Cinderella (Cake Style)
by CakeIsAGoodFriend
Summary: Maximum Ride has always been a Cinderella, no matter how much she doesn't want to admit it. With evil step-sisters, an awful step-mother, a dramatic best friend, and a prince charming that she most certainly doesn't expect, can she achieve her ultimate goal? Or will this fairy-tale get the best of her?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, people! Here it is: Yet another Cake cliché. What can I say? I'm nothing if not… not original? Ha-ha. :P But, yeah. I have read many Cinderella Maximum Ride Fanfics, but just thought I'd try my own. For all of you out there who have seen it, I know that this is highly based off 'A Cinderella Story' the movie (Which is AMAZING). So, trust me, I know I'm taking the idea from that movie, but that's what makes it a cliché, right?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or A Cinderella Story or Cinderella in general, actually. Just so you know, I am never repeating this Disclaimer again. -_-**

**Ch. 1:**

**Max POV**

_CladInBlack: You just can't stop talking, huh?_

I laughed at CladInBlack's message back to me. He was just so unreal. I spend an hour ranting to him about my terrible life and that's all he has to say.

CladInBlack was a friend I've had for months, but I guess the idea that I had no idea who he was cued the appeal for me. Okay, sure it's bad for me to have a crush on someone I met over the Internet, but I had a fairly good idea he wasn't a pedophile or a stalker.

I actually met him over a college chat room, as weird as it sounds. Like any other high school senior, I was obsessively chatting on the web page for my dream college. After a few conversations with already accepted students, I got to talking with Clad. He was funny, surprisingly poetic, and completely… well, perfect. We talked for hours that first chat, and with a few questions, we figured out that we both went to the same high school. Hunter Creek high school.

_ILostIt…Again: Well, I had to vent to someone about my deteriorating mental stability and tendency to get stuck in crappy situations._

I smiled slightly at my response. Yes, ILostIt…Again was my screen name, but it surprisingly does not refer to my tendency to 'lose it' mentally, but to the fact I can never go anywhere without losing something. Whether it be a pencil lost in English or something more important like my Biology textbook lost at Starbucks, something will always be lost by the end of the day. Usually I can get the item back (The local Starbucks literally has a 'Max's Stuff' pile in their shop), but sometimes I can't.

_CladInBlack: Wait… did you have mental stability to begin with? That doesn't sound like the Lost I know. Anyway, at least all you lost today was your pinky ring._

_ILostIt…Again: It was a $200 ring!_

_CladInBlack: Seriously?_

I rolled my eyes at his comment. It was the little things like that I found interesting about Clad. He had the worst perception of sarcasm.

_ILostIt… Again: God, your gullible. It was $5 at a thrift store. Anyway, G2G. Time to get on with more beloved college applications._

_CladInBlack: I thought you were going to Harvard with me?_

_ILostIt…Again: Always got to have a back-up plan. Have you even told your dad about Harvard yet?_

_CladInBlack: Not yet. But I know that somehow both of us will end up at Harvard together._

_ILostIt…Again: Forever the optimist, Clad. Bye, now!_

Before he could object, I logged out of my IM account and deleted the history on my computer. What can I say? I'm very guarded about my personal information. Not to mention if Anne _ever_ found out about me applying to Harvard – well, applying to college in general – she'd go berserk. Anne, my annoying stepmother, has this delusional idea that I'll live here and work for her forever. Though I may work for her at the ice cream shop now, after this year as a senior, I'll be in college. I'll be free.

While I may be free, getting into college won't be free. Which is exactly why I have to work so hard to keep my grades up for scholarships. Maybe that gives me a little less time for socializing, but I had enough friends. I had my best friend, Iggy, and my two friends, Nudge and Angel. Plus, there was always Clad.

As I stared at my application for another back-up college, specifically UCSB, I gently sighed and proceeded to close my eyes. Just a little nap…

* * *

"MAX!" Two shrill voices woke me up from a shrouded, but happy, dreamland.

"Max!" The twin voices boomed again, but this time I was aware who they were. I stared at the intercom Anne had installed (mostly to tell me when I had chores to do) a while before responding.

"Yeah?" I pressed the button, letting my voice be heard from the other side.

"You have to make us breakfast." Lissa said, yet I was only aware which monster it was because Lissa's voice was an octave higher and squeakier than Brigid's.

Lissa and Brigid were my horrid stepsisters, just as in any fairy-tale, of course. I heaved a sigh before raking my fingers through my messy brown-blond hair. If only my life were a fairy-tale. It would definitely make everything ten times easier.

I quickly got dressed in my loose jeans and T-shirt, threw my books in my backpack, and raced to the kitchen. Using the only instrument in the kitchen I knew how to, I threw two breakfast _lean_-pockets into the microwave. They had to be lean-pockets, of course, because the already twig-thin duo was on a diet.

I snatched all three lean-pockets out of the microwave. In a swift movement, I was able to throw my lean-pocket into a napkin and then throw Lissa's and Brigid's on a fancy plate. From the 10 years it's been since my dad died, I've learned that in this household it's all about presentation.

I ran outside before Anne or the twins could catch me or give me anything else to do before school. I jumped into my rusty, old pick-up truck I had earned with help from Iggy, Nudge, and Angel.

Parking in front of Iggy's house, I honked loudly. Valencia (Iggy's mom), who was basically the mother figure in my life, came out, smiling at me.

"Iggy should be out in a moment." She said to me. I knew she somewhat pitied me ever since my dad died, but her kindness wasn't all pity. If it were, I wouldn't accept it.

For a moment I just looked at her. Her deep brown eyes, her tan skin, and her dark brown hair. It was so improbable that she was Iggy's mother. Iggy was tall and lanky with Edward-ly pale skin and strawberry blond hair. Apparently, Iggy looked just like his father, who left him and Valencia when he was four, so much so that you couldn't even see the Hispanic side of him that came from his mother. Not that that made Iggy feel any better.

Iggy came out of the house like any other day, a smile on his face and his tall figure looming over both Valencia and I.

"Romeo? Where for-art-thou Romeo?" He cried dramatically. Of course, him being the drama-king of our school, that wasn't unusual.

"Isn't that Juliet's part?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged. "Nudge and I dared each other to go for the opposite gender lead roles in the play."

I rolled my eyes at their antics as we got into the car and I drove to school, me on autopilot. It was just that Iggy and Nudge were always going at it with stupid dares and bets like this. Angel and I always rant about how they'd be the perfect couple. Unfortunately, Iggy won't get over his stupid first-grade crush that he's had on Ella Martinez, the school's popular girl. Nevermind the fact that Ella had a boyfriend to make Iggy give up. I mean, Ella's boyfriend was Fang freaking Walker. Fang was the football team captain, the school's golden boy, and everyone liked him. Not to mention he could beat Iggy to a pulp if he made a move on Ella (not that she'd respond).

As we pulled into a parking spot and piled out of the car, I suddenly felt a presence behind me. Expecting Angel or Nudge, I whipped around smiling. That smile fell the moment I laid eyes on Ella Martinez. Not only was Iggy hopelessly crushing on her, she had a knack for making everyone feel smaller than her.

"Hey Ride." She said, addressing me. "I love your shirt!" She said, smiling maliciously. I glanced down at my Cookie Monster T-shirt.

I looked up, "Wha-?" The feel of something surprisingly wet on my shirt cut me off. I stared down at the frappuccino splattered on my shirt. So, I could A) Deck Ella now and feel gratified for about five hours or B) Walk away calmly and not get suspended (which would ruin my college chances), plus not piss Iggy off my decking 'his girl'. Just as I was about to go with option A, a buzzing in my pocket cut me off. A text.

_From CladInBlack: You at school yet? I know I am. Where else could I be surrounded by people of such low intellect?_

I smiled slightly and brushed past Ella. Clad always knew how to save me, whether he realized it or not.

He made me remember the goal. Harvard, here I come.

**What do you think? I think it's pretty good for a Cinderella fic, but then again I can't critique. I did write it. :D**

**~Cake.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I've decided to update for one specific reason: Random Peep! Since it's their birthday, I feel like I should update for them. :D. **

**Anyway, I know a few of you are upset about Ella's attitude, being the 'mean girl', but she was pretty much the only person who could fit in the "Shelby Comings" mean girl spot. Nudge probably would've worked too, but quite frankly, I'm not as attached to Ella as I am Nudge, so I didn't want to make her mean. Sorry. :/**

**Ch. 2:**

**Fang POV**

_From ILostIt…Again: Yeah, I'm at school. Not that I'd ever tell you who I am. ;)_

I smirked at the message Lost sent me. She was always going on about how we were never going to meet each other. I guess that's where some of the appeal came from. Is it bad to like someone you met over the Internet? Oh sorry, I didn't notice. I was stuck in the land of I-don't-care.

_CladInBlack: Then how are we going to live happily ever after?_

I responded quickly and glanced around at all the girls texting away on their phones. There was Ella, my real girlfriend, but I was pretty much positive she was not Lost. Ella and I no longer had that spark we used to in freshman year. She probably knew as well as I did, but dating me boosted her ego too much for her to drop me. Then there was Sydney Ellis, who was typing away on her Blackberry. Way too nerdy. Lissa Ride… yeah right. She can't even string together a sentence that makes sense. My eyes caught sight of an older looking silver phone. Tracing my eyes upward, I noticed the brown gunk covering the girl's shirt.

Ah, yes. This could be no one but Maximum Ride herself. She was pretty enough, the kind you get without trying, but she seemed much too introverted to be Lost. Lost was funny and sarcastic, not that I always understood it, and to be honest I didn't know Maximum Ride. But she didn't seem the Lost type. Lost seemed like she'd be crowded with friends. Maximum Ride had three.

Not that I blamed Max for it, not at all. If I could be in her position, I would. Being football captain and class president no longer had the same appeal it did to me in freshman year, but I still did it. My dad had this fantasy that I would go to USC on football scholarship, then when my four years were over, I'd come back and work with him at the grocery store he owns, Hunter Creek Groceries.

Max seemed to notice my gaze on her, because she was glaring daggers at me. I took that as my cue to, as student body president, walk over and help her.

"Hi Max." I said with all the politeness I could muster.

"What do you want?" She asked venomously, sneaking glances at her phone and making me wonder who was on the other end.

"Follow me." I said and began to walk toward the school office. She raised an eyebrow and reluctantly trailed behind me. As we stopped in front of the office, she frowned.

"I didn't do anything wrong. I swear I didn't deck Ella." She said. Deck Ella?

"Uh… no. We're here for the lost and found. To get you a new shirt?" I said in a duh tone.

She glared. "And you care about me… why?"

I shrugged. "Student body president."

"Of course." She muttered before we said curt goodbyes and she entered the giant office building.

I walked away, shaking my head at Maximum Ride's antics. See what I mean? Way too introverted. I couldn't even help her without her death glaring at me twice. It bewildered me why Iggy, who was a pretty cool guy, stuck around her, but I wasn't him and I didn't know.

_From ILostIt…Again: Sorry for the late response. An idiotic bafoon held me up._

_CladInBlack: Someone on the football team?_

I knew that was probably who she was referring to. Everyone on 'my' team was a complete idiot jock. Even my friends, which made hanging out with them that much harder.

_ILostIt…Again: Yup. I despise them._

I knew what she meant. Technically, I didn't despise them all because I don't despise me, but they were pretty much all lacking brain cells.

My vision trailed across the campus once more, looking for Lost, but all I found were the same people on phones as before. Only this time, Max was wearing a baggy P.E. T-shirt from the lost and found instead of her old one.

I shook my head from all thoughts of Maximum Ride, Ella, or football jerks. Unfortunately, that didn't last long because my 'best buds' came up to me that moment.

"Hey Fang!" Dylan said, clapping me on the back.

"Sup man?" Sam followed up, imitating Dylan's gesture.

As much as I wanted to yell at them and tell them that hitting my back as hard as they could was a barbaric gesture, I didn't.

I settled for a shrug and a small, "Not much."

"Hey… did you see Ella today?" Dylan asked. "She's looking nice, dude."

"Cool." I responded, resisting the urge to role my eyes at the topic of conversation. If Lost were here, she would probably have already said something witty enough that Dylan and Sam wouldn't get it, but would still be offended.

_Ding! Ding! Ding!_

I practically sighed in relief that the daily bulletin bell had gone off and that I didn't need to carry on with this conversation.

"Hello dragons!" The same peppy voice as always filled the speakers. Of course, Monique Williams. More commonly known as Nudge. "Today at lunch the epic basketball staff versus kids battle is going on, don't miss it! Don't forget to clean up all your trash at lunch, keep pollution to a minimum." You could almost here the 'blah, blah, blah' in her voice as she talked about pollution. "Oh! Today is the day of auditions for Romeo and Juliet! Release your inner actor or actress on stage. Last, and most importantly, is everyone psyched for the Halloween dance?" I heard a chorus of cheers around me. "Well, I know I am. Get your costume and buy your tickets to the dance in the office. That's it for today, dragons." Nudge's voice cut off and I thought over the school bulletin.

Nothing too monumental there. As for the Halloween dance, I was going with Ella. She wanted to do a partner costume, but when I refused to be Ken to her Barbie, that idea was tossed out the window.

That's when an idea sparked inside of me. It would involve two things I've been looking forward to for a long time. Dumping Ella and meeting Lost.

Now, just how can I pull this off?

**Yes! Good, bad? Tell me in a review, people! I LOVE YOU ALL! :D**

**~Cake.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey people! Yes, I'm updating. Again. And I know you're all going to be pissed at me for updating this story and not my other ones, but how can you expect me not to? I literally just watched "A Cinderella Story" for the bajillionth time. OMIGODILOVEYOUCHADMICHAELMUR RAY! Ahem. Shall we get on with the chapter?**

**Ch. 3:**

**Max POV**

"Bye, Jeremy!" I said as I sprinted out of Starbucks, my sacred study-hangout, with my backpack slung loosely over my shoulder.

"Bye, Max." He said, smiling at me, just as my favorite cashier would on any other day.

I jumped into my truck and sped off towards Anne's Ice Cream. Technically, it used to be my father's, but after he died Anne completely changed it. And by changed it, I mean ruined it.

Grabbing my apron as I sprinted inside, I didn't even stop for breath.

"Max." Ari, the manager of this terrible establishment, said, amused.

"Hey, Ari." I said, beginning to rinse out the soft-serve machine.

"You actually made it on time. That's new." He said, walking over to me and wrapping me in a hug from behind. Now, before you get any ideas, it isn't like that. He's like an older brother.

"You lose anything at Starbucks?" He asked, letting go and returning to his own task of trying to get the syrup to actually come out of the Hershey's bottle.

I smiled. "Nope." I answered smugly. Ari turned and his eyes trailed from me to my stuff on the floor, back to me, back to the floor.

"Where's your science binder?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Front pocket."

"Math spiral?"

"Back pocket."

"History book?"

"Shit." I swore, earning a few hard looks from the people eating their ice cream. Ari shot them apologetic glances, and since he's Ari and everyone loves him, they shrugged it off.

"I'll just go back to Starbucks after my shift." I said.

"Your shift isn't over until 8. It's only 4:30." Ari pointed out.

I sighed. "Only because of Anne."

"She sucks." Ari said bluntly. "I know, honey. She's my boss. Trust me, I know."

"She's my step-mom. Trust me, _I_ know."

"Sorry to interrupt the pity party, you two, but I need to talk to you Max." I whipped my head toward Nudge, who was standing there in her perfect outfit with an apron covered in chocolate over it. Ah yes, Nudge worked at Anne's Ice Cream. She says she does it for the pay, but trust me, the pay sucks here. I'm pretty much positive she does it to make sure I have someone with me here to keep me sane. She just can't trust Ari with the job.

"Max!" She drawled out my name. "Your outfits are never very good, but today it's just… no. Seriously, Max? A P.E. shirt? That just screams no fashion sense! I could hook you up with a nice blouse, you know. Oh, and I have this way too cute skirt that would totally fit you! I bought it for me, but it's a 4, and you know I'm more of a 2, so you could take it off my hands. Trust me, it'd look adorable on you. It's a much better match for your skin tone than mine, actually. If you just nmsirghi…" Nudge was cut off by Ari's hand over her mouth.

"Nudge." I said slowly. "I didn't wear this P.E. shirt to school. Ella, her royal bitchy highness, 'spilled' her frappuccino on my shirt. What can you do?"

Nudge tensed at the mention of Ella and went back to her work. Nudge has always hated Ella. Nudge claims it's just because of her not-so-pleasant personality, but it's mostly because of Iggy's apparent crush on her.

* * *

Three and a half hours of grueling ice cream duty later, here I am. Driving back to Starbucks to get my textbook back.

I walked in, barely glancing at anyone before proceeding to walk up to Jeremy.

"Book, please?" I asked, holding out my hand.

"That isn't on the menu, Max." He said, jokingly.

"You're a riot." I said dryly. Jeremy just rolled his eyes and placed the book in my hands.

"Thank you!" I said in a bright tone before turning and walking towards the exit.

I felt a vibration in pocket and sighed. Probably Anne, asking why I wasn't back home yet and why her floors weren't mopped yet.

_From CladInBlack: Hey, Lost?_

My mood brightened slightly as I paused, hesitating to leave Starbucks just yet.

_ILostIt…Again: Yeah?_

_From CladInBlack: How's your day been so far? Lose anything yet?_

_ILostIt…Again: Just my textbook._

I responded quickly, not missing a beat.

When a lack of response came, I sighed and began to walk out the door. As I did, though, I collided with something hard and… dark?

"Fang?" I asked, looking up at the guy in front of me.

"Oh… hi Max." He said rather awkwardly. I looked down at the blond kid next to him. "This is my brother Gazzy." He explained. I surveyed Gazzy, who had blond hair and vibrant blue eyes. His hair did seemed to be singed, though…

"Well, um, bye." I said after a few moments of awkward silence.

As I finally got into the car, I felt my phone buzz once more.

_From CladInBlack: Sorry. I got held up. My brother tried to blow something up again. You know he's in his pyromaniac phase. This time, though, I think he burned some of his hair off. Mom is going to be so pissed._

I genuinely laughed at his message and tried to picture his brother, burnt hair and all, but I couldn't. How could I know what his brother looked like, if I didn't even know what he looked like?

_ILostIt…Again: No problem. So, what's up with you?_

_From CladInBlack: Still being pressured by my dad to 'follow the plan', but I did come to a revelation._

_ILostIt…Again: Oh yeah, and what is that?_

Genuinely curious about his answer, I waited about five minutes in the truck with no response.

_From CladInBlack: You and I are going to meet up. At the Halloween Dance on Friday. I already have my ticket, do you have yours?_

I gaped at his message. He really wanted to meet me?

_ILostIt…Again: I wasn't going to go…_

I truly wasn't. Quite frankly, no one asked me and I had no intention of going.

Something deep within me was telling to decline Clad's offer. _He's too perfect, _It said, _something isn't right._

_From CladInBlack: Will you go with me?_

I gulped as I typed my simple one word answer.

_ILostIt…Again: Yes._

**Well, I haven't got anything to say.**

**Peace!**

**~Cake.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I am so hardcore multitasking right now. Yup – you guessed it. Typing up a chapter, listening to music, and eating Raisin Bran. As I said, hardcore stuff.**

**Ch. 4:**

**Fang POV**

_ILostIt…Again: Yes._

I couldn't stop staring at that message. We hadn't texted again since, but I couldn't seem to stop staring. For one word, it seemed to have a hell of a lot of beauty.

"Dude, what's up? You haven't stopped staring at your phone for the thirty minutes we've been here." Someone commented, pulling me out of my daze. I snapped my head up to see it was Sam. Damn, after four years of him shouting football plays on the field with me, you'd think I'd recognize his voice, but no. I must have the worst vocal recognition skills on the planet.

"Did Ella text you? Did she say something dirty? Dude – that's hot." Dylan said, agreeing with himself. I didn't even try to hide it as I eyed the pair with disgust.

"No. It was someone else. Besides, I think I'm going to break up with Ella." I told them. I figure if I don't have any actual friends, I may as well confide in these idiots.

"What?" Sam asked, incredulous. "Why, man? You two have been dating for years!"

I shrugged in response.

"Dude, what about the Halloween Dance? Who are you going to go with?" If it had been any other day, I probably would've just glared at them for saying 'Dude' again, but not today.

Instead, being truly poetic, I looked into the distance and tried to envision who Lost truly could be.

"I don't know."

**Max POV**

"I just don't know, Iggy." I said honestly.

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'? You've been texting this Claude dude for months and you _tell_ him you're going to go to the dance with him and you _don't know_."

"First of all, its Clad, not Claude." I corrected. "Besides, I just don't know whether not I should go. He's expecting a fairytale princess, not me. If I never meet him, I never have to deal with the rejection." I reminded him.

"Or you could go, meet your true love, and live happily ever after?" Iggy suggested.

I looked at him strangely. "Isn't that what the girl is supposed to say?" He heaved a sigh a just stared at me.

It's times like this that sometimes I regret Iggy being the one person I confided in with the secret of 'Clad'. I could've told a rock or something, and no one would be trying to tell me to go to this stupid dance.

"Max, stop being so damn insecure."

"I'm not insecure." I interrupted.

He continued his monologue, pretending I had never interrupted. "You're gorgeous, you get straight As, you have a job." I resisted the urge to mutter, _at an ice cream shop._ "Anyone would be lucky to have you and any guy would date you. I'd date you."

I quirked an eyebrow at his statement.

He rolled his eyes, "Okay, maybe _I_ wouldn't, you're not my type. Anyone else would, though. Didn't you see the way Dylan was looking at you the other day?"

"Like a piece of meat? Yeah, I saw." I said sarcastically. "Anyway, I'm not your type? Oh yeah, I know your type." I said in an effort to get the conversation off of me. A picture of Nudge and Iggy popped into my head.

Iggy grinned. "Yeah, I know. Ella Martinez." I groaned, not even caring what he thought about it. Iggy and I were _so_ not on the same page here.

"Why do you like such a bitch?" I asked, genuinely curious, though there was some spite in my voice as I said the word 'bitch'.

Iggy frowned at me, "She isn't a bitch, Max." Ah yes, of course. Defending thy lady's honor. Oh wait – she has none.

I began to lie through my teeth. "Sorry, I was being a little judgmental." _No I wasn't._

"Max, you're lyi- wait! We were talking about your love life, not mine."

I smirked. "So you finally noticed?"

"I hate you." He murmured under his breath, but loudly enough for me to hear him. "Anyway, I am not going to let you leave this Starbucks until you agree to go with Clad. The guy is obviously into you, so why decline? The worst that could happen is he's not as cool as you thought, so you just ditch him. No biggie there. And on top of all that, the biggest reason is still brewing."

I pondered his words carefully, still debating inside my head. "And what's that?" I asked.

He began to fish inside his pockets. "Well," He pulled to green stubs out of his right jeans pocket. "I already bought both of us tickets – and I'm not wasting $15."

At a time like this you might think a girl is better. Discussing your love life might not seem to come easily with guys, but with Iggy it's different. He's like the brother I never had. Wow, I sure do have a lot of those. Ari _and_ Iggy. I'm starting to get surprised I was born an only child.

"Fine." I said gruffly, snatching a ticket out of his hand. I hid my smile as we walked out of Starbucks, me heading to my job and Iggy heading home. With a friend like Iggy escorting me, there was no possible way I was bailing anymore. And I was kind of happy about it.

**Fang POV**

As we all stood in our small circle – Ella, Dylan, Sam, Jennifer and Stacy (the Ella wannabes, Ella takes them everywhere. Some people have dogs in purses, Ella has wannabes.), and I – I realized I had to talk to Ella soon. She was still under the impression we were going to the dance together, though I had never actually formally invited her.

"Ella, we need to talk about something." I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. Dylan and Sam nodded, signaling I was good with my speech so far.

"What?" She asked happily, sipping on her Jamba Juice lowfat energy-boost thing. Yes, thing. It was so messed up with chemicals trying to make it healthier; it couldn't even be classified as a smoothie anymore.

I looked around nervously. "In private." I said.

She crossed her arms. "You can say anything you want to say to me in front of Jen and Stacy. You know that, hon." She said defiantly.

Sam and Dylan were sending me the "no-go, try again later" signal, but to be honest, I didn't _want_ to try again later. Who knows when I'd have the _guts_ to try again later?

"Fine, then. I want to break up." I said bluntly.

Her eyes widened. "What?" She screeched. "You don't mean that. You know you don't."

"I do mean that. We both haven't felt 'that' way in a long time, Ella. We can still be friends, you know that."

She glared at me intensely. "You. Don't. Mean. It." She ground out her words smoothly and carefully. "You know what? I have to go for mani-pedis with the girls, now. I'll meet you at the dance on Friday, kay?"

She swiftly walked away, the wannabes trailing at her heels.

"Smooth, man." Sam joked once she had left. I shot him a strong glare and he flinched.

"Sorry, dude. What are you going to do?" He apologized sincerely.

If it had been any other day, I probably would've just glared at them for saying 'Dude' again, but not today.

I groaned and, being truly poetic, looked off into the distance.

"I don't know."

**Ha-ha. Did anyone catch my repetition there at the end? Well, my bowl of Raisin Bran is long gone by now, leaving me quite sad actually. I love Raisin Bran. Sigh.**

**~Cake.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I can't believe I'm able to write this right now. I'm just trying not to sob from the last Glee episode. Yes, I'm still trying not to sob from an episode that aired last night. And yes, I'm a Gleek. Deal with it.**

**Ch. 5:**

**Max POV**

"Will you turn that off?" I groaned, beyond annoyed at Angel and Nudge.

"But, Ma-ax! It's the season finale! José is finally confessing his love to Marietta!" Nudge complained.

I looked at the pair. They were both sprawled out on the ground, watching a Spanish soap opera; acting like it was the most important thing in the world.

"How can you even understand it without the subtitles? Isn't it just nonsense?" I asked.

Angel shot me a glare. "Unlike you, we actually pay attention in Spanish."

"I hate you." I muttered darkly. "Well, I'm going to go get some milk."

"Milk? Max – it's 2:30 AM." Angel said with the same reasonable I always heard from her.

"Oh please, I'm the guest, right? I can do what I want. Besides, what's going to happen? Is your dad going to scold me?"

"This is why I hate it when you sleep over. So defensive, missy." Angel rolled her eyes and gestured to the door. "Your milk is waiting."

Smiling, I strode out of the room into the kitchen. I opened the door to the fridge, plopped a glass on the counter, and began to pour.

Unfortunately for me, nothing is ever that simple. With pure Max luck, the glass tipped over, spilling milk all over the kitchen counter – and me.

"Shi…i…izzlesticks." I muttered lamely. It sucks that Nudge and Angel are trying to get me off of this swearing kick. With a sigh, I got down on all fours and began to scrub away at the floor with my spare rag. Yeah, I had a spare. If that doesn't signal to you just how pathetic my life is, what will?

After a few more minutes of scrubbing, I poured my milk (correctly), and set the dreaded milk carton back in the fridge with a loud _thud_.

"Who's there?" A voice sounded behind me. Startled, I took my milk and flung it in the direction of the voice.

"What the frick?" It said and seemed to spit out milk.

As the person stepped forward, I was extremely surprised to see a soaked Fang there, holding an equally wet tennis racket.

"Um… hi." I said awkwardly.

"Maximum Ride?" He asked. "What are you doing in my house? And why did you throw milk at me?"

I crossed my tanned arms over my chest and huffed. "It's not just your house. I've slept over here at least 20 times with your sister. How have you never noticed?"

"No, I have not." Fang said, narrowing his eyes. "Besides, I really thought you were a thief or something."

"No, not a thief. Wait… you were going to fend off a criminal with a tennis racket?" I asked, stifling a laugh.

He looked down. "Yes." I couldn't help it – I burst out laughing.

"You… idiot…" I clutched at my stomach to keep myself upright.

"Whatever." Fang muttered, walking back in the direction of his room. If you haven't got it yet: Angel is Fang's sister. I really can't believe he hasn't seen me here before. It's like my third home. First home-home with Anne, Brigid, and Lissa, then Iggy's place, then Angel's.

I stepped into Angel's room, my pajamas already drying, my laughter already subsiding.

"Hey." Nudge said, not looking up from her fashion magazine.

"So…" Angel said. "You may wonder why we invited you over today."

"Nope." I said, popping the 'p' and plopping down on my sleeping bag.

"Well, we're here to say… youneedtogototheHalloweenDan ce." Angel blurted.

I raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"You. Need. To. Go. To. The. Halloween. Dance." Nudge clarified.

"Okay." I shrugged.

"And I know you won't want to, but you need to. It'd boost your popularity, not that it really matters, but you should be social! Iggy, Angel, and me can't be your only friends. Not to mention all the cuh-ute guys at the dance and… wait, you said yes?" Nudge asked.

"Yeah." I said, shrugging once more.

"Um… okay, then." Nudge said shortly, exchanging a glance with Angel that screamed 'She's really agreeing?' "So… we brought costumes for you to try on." Nudge grinned.

"What?" I asked. "I'm going as me. That's what I always am for Halloween."

"Please, Max?" Nudge and Angel begged, pulling out the awful Bambi eyes. Everyone thinks I cave to them because they're cute, but I don't. I cave to them because they're _creepy_! I mean honestly, no one should be able to make their eyes that wide. They belong in a freaking anime.

"Fine… fine." I growled.

* * *

"No. No. No. NO." I groaned, pissed at the results I was getting. I had tried pirate, fairy, angel, devil, the lion from the Wizard of Oz, and Little Red Riding Hood. Nothing. It's all horrible.

"Why do you even have this many costumes, Ange?" I asked, truly curious.

Angel just smiled. "That's for me to know and you to never find out."

"I think you just murdered that saying." I muttered under my breath.

"Besides," Angel continued, "these were just to pass time. I already know what you're going as."

"Pass time?" I asked, incredulous. "You mean we could've been done with this an hour ago?"

Angel seemed to gesture to Nudge while she ignored my whining. In a flash, Nudge walked into Angel's closet, and then came back out holding a beautiful white dress.

"What? That's my costume?" I asked.

"Yes." Angel grinned wider than ever.

I rolled my eyes. "You two really don't know me. I'd never wear a dress- and definitely not that." The dress was strapless and cinched at the waist. Below the waist it spread out in a tutu-like fashion that would probably stop just above my knees. The whole thing was covered in elaborate beading. It was so… the opposite of me.

Angel just smiled some more. "We know that, but this costume is just to perfect to pass up." Wordlessly, she reached behind herself and pulled something out. Eyeing it, I finally realized what it was. It was a white, lacy mask.

That's when it clicked. They were right. This was to perfect to pass up.

I was going to the dance all right. As _Cinderella_.

**How was the chapter? Yeah, I know it was a bit boring, but I got Fang in there. Not to mention I found her costume. I tried to make it as exciting as possible. Isn't it just annoying when you find those full chapters on how Max went dress shopping? Yeah, well… that's it for now, folks!**

**~Cake.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I should probably update Reputations or the New Me or the story on my other account, but I'm much too lazy. Plus, the inspiration just isn't coming to me right now. As for this story, the inspiration is flowing like CRAZAY.**

**Ch. 6:**

**Max POV**

Friday. That's what today is. Well, maybe I should elaborate, today is Friday, October 31st. As in Halloween. As in the Halloween Dance.

Unfortunately, I was stuck scrubbing floors like a madwoman instead of at the dance. I was almost done with the list, but I couldn't go to the dance because of Anne.

I heaved a sigh and continued to scrub at the floor of the giant house I resided in.

_Slam!_

I looked up, curious to see who it could be that had slammed the door open so forcefully. Standing there, dressed as a pirate, was Iggy, my Cinderella dress in hand.

"Time to go to the dance, Maxie." He winked tossed the dress my way. I immediately dropped the scrub brush I was using to scrub the floors and caught the dress.

I began to realize all the things that could go wrong in this situation.

I bet you want to know how I got to this point, though, right?

* * *

I flopped down on my mattress, exhausted from mowing the lawn for the third time this week. I mean, really, Anne was loaded, couldn't she just get a gardener? That lawn mower is _heavy_.

I walked over to my computer and saw that Clad was on his IM account.

_ILostIt…Again: Hey._

_CladInBlack: Hey, Lost. Something just hit me: How am I going to find you at the dance?_

_ILostIt…Again: We could… have a codeword? Like Snickers Bars?_

_CladInBlack: Sure, that'll work well. We'll go up to some innocent person and they'll say, "Um… do you want one?" Scratching out that idea. How about we meet in the middle of the dance floor?_

_ILostIt…Again: In the writhing mass of bodies? I'd rather not. Here, I'll just tell you this: Look out for Cinderella._

_CladInBlack: Well, that's a bit ominous._

_ILostIt…Again: Bye, now!_

_CladInBlack: Wait!_

With a smile, I clicked out of the window.

"Max!" Anne's screech sounded through my intercom, and I pulled myself up and dragged myself to the kitchen, where I knew she'd be waiting.

"Yes, Anne?" I asked once I had arrived.

She didn't spare a glance at me as she took a sheet out of her paper and tossed it at me. "Chores." She explained.

I stared down at the list.

_Clean out the fridge_

_Check expiration dates on all food in pantry and write them down. Throw away expired food._

_Take out all the trash._

_Scrub the floors of every room._

"Anne… I can't finish all this. I'm going to Nudge's and Angel's in just a minute to get ready for the Halloween Dance."

Anne laughed airily. "Oh, _honey_. You aren't going to that dance. Not a chance. Now, chop chop! Get started on your list."

Anger flared within me towards Anne. "You don't understand. I have to go to this dance. I have to."

"You don't have to go anywhere. In fact, you'll be staying here while my girls go out to the dance. I'll be back with the girls at midnight. If the chores aren't done and you aren't present, I can promise you won't be a happy camper, got it?"

Slowly, I nodded my head.

I ran back to my room and began to text Nudge and Angel.

(_Max_, Nudge, _Angel_)

_Looks like that dress is going to waste. I can't go to the dance._

_No way, Max! You can't chicken out now._

_I'm not chickening out. Anne gave me a whole list of chores; I'll never make it in time._

But MAX! Forget Anne! You need to go! It's a necessary thing!

_Well, there goes that plan. I'm going to kill Anne._

_Go ahead. By all means, go ahead. Well, see you tomorrow?_

Yeah, bye.

_Bye._

I fingered the lacy mask Angel and Nudge had let me take home.

With that, I began to set out working on the list.

* * *

That brought me here. I had practically finished the list, but I couldn't just leave. Anne would kill me, bring me back to life, rip away my college savings, and then kill me again. That isn't a fate I particularly would like.

"What are you waiting for?" Iggy asked impatiently.

"I can't go." I said flatly. "Anne-"

"I heard from Nudge, Max." Iggy rolled his eyes. "Which was why I brought backup." He gestured behind him, where Ari was standing, a gleam in his eyes.

"What's he going to do?" I asked Iggy, quirking an eyebrow.

"Your chores." Ari said, letting out a smile that only he could give.

"I'm nearly done with them and-"

"Just let me finish them for you, Max." Ari smiled, picking my scrub brush up off the ground. "Now, go get ready, you're already 15 minutes late!"

I grabbed the dress, the mask, and ran to the bathroom. I didn't bother with makeup, but put my hair in a tight bun on my head, though a few strands fell astray onto my face. I raced back out of the room, breathless.

"Max," Iggy gaped, "you're unrecognizable."

I smirked a little bit. "Good."

"You look good, little one." Ari said before wrapping me in a hug.

"Thanks." I grinned, turning to look in the mirror, but as I did so, I gasped. I truly looked like another person. Out of the baggy T-shirts, I was no longer the same Max everyone was used to. It was kind of nice. I slipped on my converse, successfully completing the 'Modern Cinderella' look.

I began to walk towards the door, Iggy at my heels, when I stopped in the doorway.

"Wait. Lissa and Brigid will recognize my truck." I pointed out.

"Take my car." Ari said, tossing me his keys lazily.

"Really?" I asked, incredulous. His car? His _convertible_?

"Really." He winked. "Now, go!"

**Fang POV**

I anxiously checked the clock on the wall inside the auditorium once more. Lost was already 20 minutes late because I hadn't seen a single Cinderella since I had arrived here.

"Hey, dude. Why do you keep staring at the clock? You waiting for a chick?" Dylan asked from my left.

I shot him a cold glare. "Yes, okay. Yes."

"Who?" Sam asked from my right.

"I don't know… Cinderella. Have you seen anyone dressed as Cinderella?" I asked, suddenly hopeful that maybe the boys had glimpsed someone I hadn't.

"Nope." Sam shook his head. I let out an exasperated sigh I didn't know I had been holding.

"Dude! That's why you ditched our costume at the last second." Dylan crossed his arms. "That's why you ditched the Mario, Luigi, and mushroom-dude costumes to be stupid prince charming."

I smirked at Dylan and Sam, who looked truly ridiculous as Luigi and Toad without their Mario. I then glimpsed down at my own dark attire. A dark blue riding coat, a dark red sash, and some gold badges that truly made me look like prince charming.

I heard a chorus of gasps around the room and looked up to see a beautiful girl entering through the double doors of the auditorium.

She seemed entirely uncomfortable with the amount of stares on her, but walked ahead anyway.

The attention seemed to fade away from her, but I continued to stare at her. I stared at her white dress, her lacy mask, and finally, her purple converse.

"Is that her, dude?" Dylan whispered from my left.

"I sure hope so."

**Woot! Dance next chapter!**

**~Cake.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the chapter you've been waiting for!**

**Ch. 7:**

**Max POV**

I glanced around, glad that the unnerving stares were finally off of my shoulders. While my gaze swept the room, they finally landed on Iggy, who was standing in front of me, currently untying his bandana from his head.

"Why are you doing that?" I asked, genuinely curious. He continued on, though, this time tying the bandana around his nose and mouth like an outlaw.

"If you get to be unknown, I do too." Iggy said, as if his reasoning made perfect sense.

"That's the worst logic in the world." I told him, rolling my eyes.

"It's Iggy logic, which means it's great, but anyway, Max, I know what you're trying to do. And it isn't working. Now, go! Find your prince." He gave me a small shove, not giving me the time to point out that, technically, 'my prince' was finding me. I surveyed the room left and right, trying to spot who could be Clad.

"Lost?" A low voice asked. I whipped around to face a tall senior in my cooking class. His name was… Joshua?

"Clad?" I asked, and Joshua frowned.

"Um… no. I was asking if you were _lost_." Suddenly, I realized what he meant, and felt my cheeks heat up.

"Oh… um… no." Joshua shrugged and walked off as if it were nothing. My looking around must have signaled to him that I was some random girl that had gotten lost. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stu-

"Lost?" Another deep voice asked.

I sighed in exasperation. "No, I'm pretty sure I know how to get around my own high school's auditorium."

I heard a low chuckle followed by a, "No. I mean are _you_ Lost?" I felt a smile creep its way onto my face.

I turned around. "Clad." I said, mid-spin.

"Yeah." He said, shrugging. I stood there in shock as I looked at the one and only Fang Walker standing there, dressed as prince charming.

"_Fang Walker_?" I asked, incredulous.

"That's me." He said, a small smile on his features.

"You're Clad? You're kidding me, right? What is this to you? Some kind of joke?" I asked, anger bubbling its way through me.

"What? No." Fang said, his smile dropping.

I laughed humorlessly. "What? This was just another way for you to make fun of me? Another way for you and your bitchy little girlfriend to rub it in my face that you're so much better than me?"

"I broke up with Ella, Lost. For you." He said seriously.

"But _Fang_, you're the captain of the football team. You're student body president. You're the guy everyone knows is going to get a football scholarship. You can't be Clad, who wants to go to Stanford. Clad, who doesn't get sarcasm. Clad, who just isn't you. You can't be Clad and Fang."

"But I am. I've been telling you about it, haven't I? How my dad wants me to go to USC? How everyone has a plan for me that I just don't want to follow." He asked, seemingly near pleading.

I bit on my bottom lip, contemplating if he was lying or not when a thought struck me. "You do know who I am, right?"

He shook his head. "Yes and no. I know the part that matters – you're Lost. I know Lost. As for your 'true identity' I haven't the faintest idea."

My lips began to twitch upward. "Good."

"You want to get out of the ruckus?" Fang asked, gesturing to the hormonal teens around us, using this dance as an excuse to make out with whoever is nearest to them while the parent chaperones went crazy.

"Sure." I nodded vigorously, figuring it'd be good to get away from the deafening music.

He grabbed my arm, and I won't lie, I felt like an electric shock had zapped me. Whether or not that was because we had chemistry or because Fang is radioactive, I have no clue. He dragged me out of the auditorium and out into the adjoining quad, but it was already filled with overly-intimate couples, so we ventured on, out to the field. It was where I had used to run track, before my schedule was so heavy that I could no longer handle it. It was where I knew Fang had scored so many touchdowns in his football games.

"Well, what now?" I asked.

Fang breathed out a laugh. "I have no idea."

"We could… play 20 questions?" I suggested, having no other ideas on hand.

"Okay, then." Fang stopped, searching for a question. "What's your favorite dessert?"

I began to laugh. "What kind of question is that?" I asked, but Fang's eyebrow quirk signaled to me just to answer it. "Chocolate chip cookies… is there anything else worth eating? Now, here's my question: What was the point of your question?"

"Well, you just cut out ¾ of the student population." He pointed out, referring to all the girls with their frou-frou energy drinks and granola bars. "Hm… have we ever met?"

"Yeah. We have actually." I told him, thinking of myself splashing milk on him.

"How could I not remember?" Fang said, furrowing his eyebrows in thought, as if that would help him figure out who I was.

I decided to cut the topic back to the game. "We've had many discussions about annoying football players. Yet you are one and you hang out with many of them. Can you explain that?" I asked, smirking at him.

"You mean Dylan and Sam? They're only there to keep up the façade. You have no idea how annoying they are. Well, Sam is okay; I think he just tries to fit in by following Dylan. Now, Dylan, he's the real problem. Annoying as hell and he can't keep his mouth shut about anything." Fang seemed to scrunch his nose as he talked about his 'comrades'. "You're beautiful, do you know that?" He asked suddenly.

I managed to hide my blush. "You're wasting a question." I pointed out.

"It's cool." He told me, smiling like an idiot.

"Why did you want to meet me so badly?" I asked, the curiosity that had been eating at me for days finally busting it's way out.

He grinned wider. "How could I not want to meet you? You're witty, nice, and you were the only person who would actually talk to _me_. Can I… can I take off your mask?" He asked me.

My hand shot subconsciously to my face. Take off my mask?

I slowly lowered my hand and nodded silently. Fang raised his hand to my face and touched my mask; his thumb resting gently on face, making my heart beat erratically. Again, he might be radioactive.

"We have to go!" Someone yelled, and I whipped my head around to see Iggy, his hair slightly ruffled, his arms waving like a madman. _My time limit_, I thought immediately.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized to Fang. "I-I have to go." I took off sprinting, thankful that I had worn my converse instead of the heels that Angel had suggested.

"Wait!" Fang called after me, and I could tell he was running too, but I only took Iggy by the arm and ran harder.

So much for Cinderella and Prince Charming.

**Whoa! I'll get Iggy's POV (or 3rd person POV) to cover his end of the dance next chapter, okay?**

**~Cake.**


	8. Chapter 8

**With my sickness, I have nothing better to do than write. Oh god, I just spelled 'write' as 'right'. Do you think it's possible that sickness deludes your spelling ability?**

**Ch. 8:**

**3rd Person POV**

Iggy stood there, watching as his best strode away looking for her prince charming.

"What are you?" A voice from behind him asked. He turned to see a girl in a mermaid costume standing there staring at him. He grinned with pride.

"I'm a pirate, matey." He said, using his most theatrical voice.

"Then what's with the bandana?" The girl deadpanned.

"Oh… um… I'm an outlaw-pirate?" He asked, though his voice came out questionable. The girl gave him a what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you stare he was so accustomed to before shrugging and walking off. Iggy had always dealt with those stares and there wasn't much he could do about them. If people wanted to judge him, they could. He had been Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and Tinker Bell in his one-man play, he was used to it.

He felt a tap on his back and whipped around once more. His mouth nearly dropped in shock from staring at the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She seemed familiar as she stood there, dressed as a fairy, but she had a mask covering most of her face. Her mocha-skin glowed from beneath her orange dress, which suited her more than she could have ever imagined. That's when it hit him. He did know her. It was _Nudge_.

"Nudge." He said, staring at the girl shock.

The girl nodded, trying not to giggle at the expression her crush of 4 years was giving off. "Hey, Igs."

"Aw… you can tell it's me?" He asked.

"Anyone can tell it's you. You'd have to be a complete dimwit not to be able to figure it out. Besides, who else would come dressed as a pirate-outlaw?"

"My taste in costume _is_ one of a kind." Iggy said, as if contemplating whether or not to be offended at the jab at his skills in disguising himself.

"Omigod." Nudge said suddenly. "Did you see Max?"

"Yeah…" Iggy trailed off, not seeing where she was going with this. She was one of the most confusing girls he had ever known, after all.

"Doesn't she look amazing?" Nudge exclaimed. "Angel and I spent literal hours looking for that dress. Wait – is there anything besides literal hours? Are there even such things as fake hours? I never got that, why do people put 'literally' in front of things? And for that matter dinghbjgfwfe…"

Iggy smiled and took his hand off of Nudge's mouth, and she glared at him for interrupting her rant.

Nudge opened her mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by Iggy's, "Whoa." She followed his gaze to the one and only Ella Martinez, who was bursting through the open doors. She was closely followed by the wannabes, and all three girls were dressed as devils. _Suits her, _Nudge thought bitterly, looking at the only person in her life that she actually despised.

With Iggy staring at her, Nudge could almost see the stars in his eyes. In an awkward attempt to leave, Nudge let out a small, "Bye, Igs."

"Why are you leaving?" He asked, reverting his attention back to her. She could see the stars in his eyes had been replaced question marks of confusion. _BECAUSE YOU DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE YOU LOOK AT ELLA!_ She wanted to scream, but didn't. She just shrugged and walked off to find Angel.

Iggy watched her go off in confusion. What had he done? He shrugged Nudge's moody behavior off and went back to one of his hugest hobbies- staring at Ella Martinez. Her mouth hung open in shock, and Iggy followed her gaze to see who had shocked her so much. Iggy had to be careful to keep his own jaw closed as he stared at Ella Martinez's boyfriend, Fang Walker, talking to Max. _That_ was Max's prince charming? _I think I need some aspirin, _Iggy thought, unsure what to think of this prince. He watched as Max allowed herself to be pulled away by the one and only Fang Walker. Iggy blinked repeatedly. _Well, if he's good enough for Max to think he's good enough, then he's good enough for me to think he's good enough._

With no one left to stare at, he turned back to Ella. What he saw was not what he expected though, for he saw Ella being pressed up against a wall by another one of the football jocks, Dylan Gunther-Hagen. Iggy frowned, anger bubbling up as Ella struggled to get out of the football player's grasp. Without knowing exactly what he was doing, he strode over and snapped, "Hey you! Stop it."

Ella and Dylan both whipped their heads towards him. Suddenly, he was aware of just how dumb what he had just done was. Dylan let go of Ella, focusing his attention on Iggy now. "What did you say?"

Iggy gulped. "I said to stop it. Just leave her alone. Go get some girl who actually wants to make out with you."

"You're going to regret saying that, nerd." Dylan said threateningly, but the fact he had addressed Iggy as 'nerd' verified Iggy's assumption that neither Dylan nor Ella knew who he was.

Dylan, steaming now, took a swing at Iggy. Iggy, acting on reflexes, ducked, suddenly thankful for being in The Three Musketeers. Dylan tried again, this time using the running technique he did in football. Iggy just sidestepped, sticking out his leg. Dylan tripped over Iggy's leg, sending him sprawling into the snack table right behind them. Ella stared wide-eyed at her savior.

"Thanks." She said, gathering herself together.

Iggy shrugged, as if taking down football players was an every day thing. Not knowing what else to say he said, "Uh… I'm sorry about you and Fang." He immediately wanted to smack himself for saying something so stupid.

"It's okay." Ella said, taking a step toward him. Iggy gulped, realizing his crush from forever was advancing on _him_.

_Beep, beep, beep! Beep, beep, beep!_

Iggy sighed and stared down at his watch. Eyes bulging at the time, Iggy knew he had to get Max home so Anne wouldn't kill her. Ella eyed him questioningly.

"I have to go…" Iggy glanced down at her apologetically.

"Stay." She fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"Sorry." Iggy said one last time before running off to find Max.

While he was running all he could think was, _Wow._

**Soooo bored. Uggggggghhhhh.**

**~Cake.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone, remember how I was sick a while ago? Yeah, well that was stomach-ache/sore throat sick. Now, I'm full-blown cold sick. My nose is so stuffed up I can barely talk. -_-**

**Ch. 9:**

**Max POV**

With Ari's convertible, Iggy's reckless driving, and my helpful directions, I was able to get home with time to spare.

I raced into the bathroom, changing quickly into my work clothes. I threw my dress into Iggy's arms as I exited, putting our plan into motion. Iggy winked at me before racing outside to his car and driving off, leaving no trace of me ever being at the dance.

I turned to Ari with a grin. He had left the house spotless- a job well done.

"So, what happened, Maxie?" Ari asked me playfully.

"Nothing." I said immediately, trying to push Cla- Fang from my mind. He was everything I expected him to be, but not at the same time.

Ari stepped toward me, wrapping an arm around me and rubbing his fist into my head in a noogie.

"You do know that unlike Nudge, I am not afraid of messing up my hair?" I asked dryly as I crossed my arms.

"Well, damn." Ari said, shaking his head in amusement and letting me go.

I giggled a bit, the way I only could when I was around Ari. "So, what really happened, Maxie?"

"I met the guy." I stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, effectively avoiding the real meaning to his question. Ari quirked an eyebrow, his blue eyes twinkling in anticipation for my answer. "It was Fang." I muttered under my breath, only hoping Ari couldn't hear me.

"Head football jock? In most of your classes? Dating Ella Martinez, _that_ Fang?"

"Yes, that Fang." I snapped. "But he isn't dating Ella anymore. He was different than normal tonight, Ari. He was sweeter and… different. He was exactly how I had expected Clad to be except in Fang's body."

"Is that a bad thing?" Ari raised an eyebrow questioningly and I smacked him on the arm. He rubbed it, as if it had actually hurt him. "Ow. Anyway, Maxie, what did he say when he found out it was you?"

"He didn't." I bit my lip, preparing myself to say what I had been thinking all night. "And I'm not sure if he should."

"Oh come on, Max. I'd never be with Chelsea if I hadn't taken a few risks." He said nonchalantly, referring to his girlfriend of at least a year.

"Ari." I rolled my eyes. "It's not that simple. He's expecting exactly who he saw, the beautiful girl in that dress. I'm not her and you know it."

"But Max, you have to-" I cut him off with a raised hand.

"Just give me the list and go." I said quickly.

Ari frowned, a look of confusion sweeping over his features. "What list?"

"The list of chores…" I said, referring to the list Anne had given me before the dance.

"You never gave me a list. You only told me what to do."

I stared at him, gauging whether or not he was telling the truth. What-the-heck was written all over his features, so I figured he was telling the truth.

We said our goodbyes before Ari sped off in his convertible. I frowned a bit before re-entering the house.

I wonder what happened to that list.

**Fang POV**

"She just… left?" Dylan questioned after I recounted the tale. "That sucks, dude."

I nodded in agreement, not having the strength to contradict Dylan's statement.

"Did you see them when they left?" I asked hopefully.

Dylan and Sam both nodded. "They ran through here together- Cinderella and Pirate-Boy, that is." Dylan began recounting his tale of Pirate-Boy and Ella, and Sam helpfully added the part where Dylan had tripped and face-planted, but even that only slightly brightened my mood.

"You okay, dude?" Dylan asked, causing me to shoot him a glare. No, I was not okay. Lost had just left me alone, never even telling me her name.

"Well, maybe this'll cheer you up." Sam said, digging through his back pocket. "Cinderella dropped it." He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me.

"And you didn't tell me earlier?" I exclaimed while snatching the paper from Sam.

_Clean out the fridge_

_Check expiration dates on all food in pantry and write them down. Throw away expired food._

_Take out all the trash._

_Scrub the floors of every room._

I stared down at the supposed to-do list in my hand. _This_ was what I had to go on? No, I couldn't have gotten a shoe or a cellphone or an iPod or something that would actually lead me to Lost, but a to-do list.

"You okay, dude?" Dylan repeated his earlier statement. I nodded this time, though. At least I had something to go on, right? I could be left absolutely clueless, not even a single lead to go on.

"Fang." A voice snapped behind me. I turned around to see Ella standing there, surrounded by her wannabes.

"Um… yeah?"

"Well, I just have to say that I'm glad you broke up with me. I found the perfect guy tonight. I'm sure he's ten times better than you'll ever be. He's so mysterious and dreamy." Ella sighed.

"Good?" I asked, not sure how to answer.

"Yes, good. For me, not you. Let me guess – you're miserable without me?" Ella smirked. Conceited, much?

"No. I'm good." I let a small smile escape my lips. "I just have to find my girl now. She's a bit… Lost."

**Sorry for the shortness, but I'm off to sulk in bed now.**

**~Cake.**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Cause on top of all the ways that you messed up! You weren't smart enough to keep your stupid mouth shut. I'm sick of it, I've had enough. I hope you cry. Whoa! You've got a secret. Whoa! You couldn't keep it. Whoa, somebody leaked it. And now some shit's about to go down.**_

**Oh, well hello there! I will put a pause on singing my slightly inappropriate Ke$ha song, but only for you.**

**This weekend, I got loaded with weekend homework and projects at school. Ugh… Well, anyway, I had to write to get my mind off of the tragedy that is school.**

**Ch. 10: **

**Max POV**

_Bzzzrt! Bzzzrt!_

I woke up groggily to the sound of not far off buzzing. _Odd, _I thought to myself,_ Usually Anne, Lissa, or Brigid wake me up through the intercom._

Anne, Lissa, and Brigid had been acting odd around me lately, though. After Anne had arrived home to see all my chores done, and me still here at 12, she seemed to dismiss me. But there was something… from what I could tell, either Brigid or Lissa had told Anne about me being at the dance. I could also tell they were completely making it up about spotting me there, seeing as I was with Fang the whole time.

Soon, I began to realize that the buzzing was my phone and I picked it up lazily.

"Hello?" I asked slowly, trying not to sound completely disoriented like I actually was.

"Max!" Nudge exclaimed. "Angel and I are at school right now, and ZOMG, you have to get here! Quickly, if possible. You are going to be shocked when you get here." Her voice was laced with shock, probably from whatever she had seen.

"Nudge, why the hell are you at school at six in the morning on a Monday?"

"It doesn't matter." She dismissed me. "Just leave for school. NOW."

Shaking myself awake, I managed to get to the kitchen and scribble a quick note down for Anne. I knew I'd probably have to work extra at the ice cream shop for leaving early and not making Lissa and Brigid breakfast, but Nudge had sounded urgent.

As my truck pulled up to the school campus, I noticed what Nudge had been talking about immediately. The whole campus was smothered in blue flyers, which upon further inspection as I neared them had outlines of me, Cinderella, on them.

_Have you seen Cinderella? _

_Cinderella: Missing_

_Does anyone know Cinderella?_

All these headlines were on each of the blue flyers. Also, on the flyers, it said to report to Fang if you had seen the alleged Cinderella. So, he was the one behind this. I felt shocked, yet at the same time flattered, a bit irritated, and altogether flustered.

"Have you seen her?" A deep and familiar voice asked. I whirled around to see Fang standing there. Somehow, he had once again managed to sneak up on me. At least this time I didn't have milk. In his hands, there were even more flyers.

"Who?" I asked dumbly, not quite understanding his question. Seen who? Angel?

He chuckled a bit. "Cinderella. You _were_ just reading the flyers."

I fought the blush that wouldn't have come up if this had been before I knew that Fang was Clad. "Oh. Uh… no." I answered quickly, lying through my teeth.

Fang raised an eyebrow, but thankfully didn't comment on it. "Well, I'll see ya." He said before walking away.

"Max!" A high-pitched voice shouted. I turned to face Nudge and Angel, who were both currently running up to me.

"You have some serious explaining to do." Nudge said, glaring as she reached me.

And that's what I did. I explained. Everything. From Clad to Stanford to Fang to Ella to… just, everything. Though Nudge and Angel both argued it would be better just to tell Fang who I was, I knew what I had to do. Maybe Fang was 'obsessed' with me now, but it would blow over. It always does in the end.

**Fang POV**

I walked briskly into my History classroom and sighed. One day and still no sign of Cinderella. Well, there were at least 50 girls _claiming_ to be Cinderella, but I had gone through at least 30 and none of them could tell me a thing from the infamous list. This had become a strategy of sorts. Usually going something like this:

_Girl: I'm Cinderella! *Squeals*_

_Me: So you know of the list?_

_Girl: *Hesitates* Uh… of course._

_Me: What is the list comprised of?_

_Girl: (Option A) Uh…/ (Option B) What does comprised mean?_

So far there had been girls who had guessed, but no one had been able to pinpoint that the list was comprised of chores and was, in fact, on a blue piece of paper. That's part of the reason I made the flyers blue- maybe to clue her in on the fact that I had found the list. Well, if she did know, she certainly wasn't coming up to tell me about it.

"Mr. Walker?" Mrs. Craig said sharply, but quickly softened her tone. "You usually pay attention in class. Is everything okay?" I nodded. "Well, then, you should probably find your project partner." She pointed to a note on my desk.

This was how Mrs. Craig always did it, putting a note on the desk with information about the partner you were being paired with, then you would have to go around the class looking for your partner. It was a kind of scavenger hunt in itself, but Mrs. Craig said it helped you get to know your classmate.

_Has two step-sisters._

_Favorite subject is English._

_Has read all the Harry Potter books at least 7 times._

I tried hard to conceal my snort. This person sounded like Lost, the step-sisters, the English, and even the Harry Potter addiction. If I had a nickel for every time that girl referenced Dumbledore…

A thought struck me suddenly. _What if it _was _Lost?_

No, no. It couldn't be. That'd just be… crazy. Weird dumb luck, me being paired with Lost. It couldn't possibly happen.

I surveyed my classroom in an analyzing-fashion. Usually, with the information, I could pinpoint the person exactly in only one try.

I looked and kept looking, but still found no one who could possibly be this person. I felt a tap on my back and I twisted around to face the person.

"I believe we're partners?" Maximum Ride asked, holding out the slip of paper that did in fact have my name on it.

"Yeah." I said, nodding. See what I mean? It couldn't possibly happen. If I had been paired with Lost, Lost would have to be Maximum Ride.

And that's just preposterous… right?

**Oh… plot twist! As I said before, I'm not making this story exactly like the movie because I want to make it somewhat my own.**

**As for whether this is Eggy or Niggy, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you? ;)**

**By the way, for all wondering, I am no longer sick, but the other day I was running on some asphalt, then I tripped and fell and huge chunk of flesh on my elbow peeled off. Gross, I know. *Sigh* Sometimes I feel so accident prone…**

***WAIT! DON'T STOP HERE! WHAT IS THIS? COULD IT BE? A new Cake segment! It is called the Random Cake Fact of the Chapter. RCFC for short.  
**

**And today's RCFC is... I'm pretty sure my chapstick makes my lips look blue. Oh well. It just makes me unique. Besides, it tastes pretty good. Yeah, yeah, I know you aren't supposed to taste it. But, if you weren't supposed to taste it, why the hell did they make it fun-dip flavored?  
**

**~Cake.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the league of absence. Well, actually, it hasn't been that long, so… NEVERMIND!**

**Ch. 11:**

**Max POV**

Of all the luck, I got stuck with Fang as a partner. This was just awful. No, worse than awful. I could barely resist screaming at him all day that I was Lost when he was standing 50 meters away from me, and now, well, now he was sitting right next to me discussing his opinions on the Revolutionary War.

"Miss Ride?" I looked up at Mrs. Craig, who was glaring down at me. Why that lady had some grudge against me, the world may never know. "Uh... yes?" I replied unsurely.

Her glare intensified. "Would you care to tell me which part of the Revolutionary War you and your partner were discussing just now."

"Paul Revere's Ride and the minutemen's impact on the Revolutionary War." I replied, not skipping a beat. Frowning, she walked away and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"We were actually discussing the Battle of Yorktown, you know?" Fang's deep voice interrupted my internal victory dance. Yeah. I do have those. Why don't you?

"No. We weren't discussing. You were spewing random facts about it like the valedictorian you know you're going to be, and I was zoning out while day-dreaming about… chocolate." In this case, chocolate is equal to Fang, I guess.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "I heard you were my competition for valedictorian, actually."

I could feel my own eyes widening. "Where did you hear that?" I shrieked, causing some of the class to turn in our direction. I glared at them, successfully keeping their nosy and prying eyes away from my conversation.

"Guidance counselor." Fang shrugged. "He's supposed to give you guidance, but all he does is rant about either his life or other people's problems. He said you were, and I quote, 'A very intelligent girl with the chance to earn valedictorian, but may be going down the wrong path in life.'"

"He said that?" I growled. I always knew guidance counselors were evil. "Think there is any way I could get him fired?"

Fang emitted a low chuckle. "Doubt it."

"Well… what are we doing our project on?" I asked finally. "Paul Revere and the minutemen or the Battle of Yorktown?"

"Whatever you want." Fang shot me a small smile.

I swear I almost fainted. I must be catching the flu.

**Fang POV**

As the bell rang and I walked outside, I questioned to myself why I was being just so nice to Maximum Ride. Sure, she had proven to be a fairly decent project partner (She hadn't jumped me yet, unlike several of the other girls in the school probably would've.), but it wasn't a tendency of mine to be very… sociable.

She actually hadn't ripped my head off yet, which surprised me to no end. She had done her fair share of the workload. She had even gotten Mrs. Craig off her back, which wasn't exactly easy to do. All in all, Maximum Ride had proved to be surprising. She had also proved not to be as much of a hard ass as everyone else says.

Thinking about it, Max wasn't anything like anyone else had described her to me. Sure she was able to beat to a pulp if she tried, or she isn't afraid to go on instinct (the milk proved that), but she wasn't some primal beast as everyone thought.

For some reason, I found a sort of fun in riling her up with things like Mr. Frank and the valedictorian incident, but I also found fun in the confused expression I saw on her face every time I smiled at her. It wasn't the definite swooning of my fan club, but more like a… an amusement. She seemed genuinely confused at my smiling at her. Truthfully, I felt the exactly the same way.

It made no sense. Why was I acting this way to Maximum Ride of all people? Yet, I still felt quite happy at the fact that she had agreed to meet with me tomorrow at my house – well, she had referred to it as 'Angel's house', I still can't believe she's friends with Angel – to start on the project.

But back to my main question: Why was I acting this way to Max?

* * *

"Fang?" My father asked gruffly as I walked through the familiar threshold of my house's front door.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Congratulations." He smiled at me happily, showing a sort of pride he almost never displayed.

"… Yes?" I asked hesitantly, not sure what had riled up this good mood. For all I know, I could be misreading his expression. It could actually be hunger on his face, not pride.

"USC's taken quite an interest in you, son. They're going to send someone to go watch your next game in a month. If you do well enough, well, let's just say you've got a very high chance at a scholarship." He beamed at me, his teeth almost blinding me. I was taken aback. My dad never smiled – I had most likely gotten my nonsocial tendencies from his side of the family.

"That's… that's great." I attempted to match his smile, but failed miserably.

"What is it, son?" He asked, noticing my lack of enthusiasm.

"Nothing." I forced a believable smile on my face. "Its great, dad. USC. The dream. Soon enough, I'll be there."

"That you will be."

Happy enough with his job of delivering this _great_ news, my father took that moment to walk out of the room. I stared blankly at the wall, dropping the awful cheesy smile. Honestly, it was bad enough that I could belong as one of those smiling faces on the college brochures I had viewed.

Suddenly, I felt a pang inside me. I knew that if I went out to USC, I would miss everything. Miss everything about high school, that is. I'd miss messaging Lost long in to the hours of the night. I'd miss hanging out at Starbucks and finishing my essays. I'd miss attempting to play with Gazzy, but in the end getting part of my hair singed off. Hell, I'd probably even miss hanging out with the Dynamic Duo of Stupidity, Dylan and Sam.

I closed my eyes as I subconsciously walked to my own room. I collapsed on my bed and sighed deeply. Out of all the people, I got stuck with the dad who had planned my life out for me without even a bit of my own opinion.

But right now, I was very unsure of one fact.

Whether or not I'd be able to defy him in the end.

**How was that? Huh? Huh? Anyway…**

**Um… donkeys. Yeah. Well, I best be going now. My dad says he urgently needs the computer.**

**~Cake.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't really have much to say…**

**Ch. 12:**

**Max POV**

Irritated to the point of eye twitching, I entered the house after the long hours at work. Being careful to slam the door very loudly behind me, I let out a groan that should have described my entire existence. Even with the money Anne was paying me, I was nowhere close to the amount you needed for Stanford, not to mention the fact I wasn't even sure if I had been accepted yet. Fang was my freaking History partner, which kind of got in the way of me _avoiding_ him. Not to mention, on top of it all, Ari _and_ Nudge _and_ Angel _and_ Iggy were all giving me grief about not telling Fang who I was. I snorted. Like Iggy was one to talk; he still hadn't gone within a 3 feet radius of Ella since the dance.

"Max, dear?" I heard Anne's sickly sweet voice call. "You're home?"

"Yeah." I called back cheerfully, trying to disguise the tension in my voice.

"Come into the kitchen, please." I sighed. Obviously Anne was about to drop a bomb on me. What was it going to be this time? Was I going to have to spend the night sleeping in the attic again because Brigid wanted a sleepover that she could _only_ handle having in my room? Or was I going to have to go back to the ice cream shop and clean out the soft serve machine for the third time this week?

As I entered the kitchen, I decided to drop the act. "What is it?" I asked, irritation flowing through my voice, which was actually oddly comforting in a 'let it all out' kind of way.

"Sit down, you're going to need it." Anne smiled sympathetically while patting the chair next to her. I raised an eyebrow at this. Not only did Anne completely disregard my blatant disrespect, but also she was acting nice to me. "Honey, this is about Stanford." My eyes widened.

"H-how do you know about that?"

"Your letter came in the mail today. Now, I would be mad at you normally for hiding this from me, but considering the… circumstances, I'm not."

Suddenly, everything clicked into perspective. The sympathetic smile. The niceness. The ignoring of my irritated behavior. The circumstance was nothing good. The circumstance was that I had been rejected from my dream school.

I felt sudden tears prick the back of my eyes and I struggled to keep my voice steady. "Ca- can I see the letter?"

"Of course." She handed the letter over to me quickly enough, a smile coming with her words. Normally, I would've rolled my eyes at the satisfaction in her supposedly 'nice' smile, but not now. "I know you're upset now, Max, but remember that you can always stay here at the ice cream shop with Ari." _Wouldn't you love that_, I thought before excusing myself and racing off to my room.

I opened the letter carefully. Sure, Anne had already looked at it, but couldn't this be some kind of sick joke? Maybe I really did get in. I skimmed the page slowly and felt my heart sink when I read the words: _Sorry_ and _Rejected._

"No." I whispered before collapsing on my bed shakily. This couldn't be happening. Why? My grades were perfect. I volunteered in the community. I held bake sales (Well, sure, Iggy made the cakes, but it's the thought that counts) to donate the funds to local schools. How could I have been rejected?

The realization hit me hard, like a punch in the gut. I wasn't Stanford material.

_Maybe it would have gone differently I would have waited instead of going for early application, _I try to tell myself, but it doesn't change the fact. I'm just not Stanford material.

_Ding!_

I whipped my head around to see what was interrupting my internal pity fest. It was my computer. I wiped my eyes, getting rid off the tears that had somehow accumulated there.

_CladInBlack: Lost?_

I rolled my eyes. What a time for him to come in. My Stanford buddy- only, he still had a chance to get in. I didn't. Though I had been ignoring all his attempts to contact me since the dance, I decided now was a good time to stop ignoring. Maybe once he knows we have no chance of going to Stanford together, he'll stop trying to figure out who I am.

_ILostIt…Again: Hi, Fang._

_CladInBlack: You're really talking to me._

_ILostIt…Again: Yeah._

Good. I'll keep my answers short and to the point. It's going to be hard enough being partnered with Fang, if I keep this goodbye minimal, I won't have as much to regret.

_CladInBlack: Change in heart?_

_ILostIt…Again: You could say that._

_CladInBlack: I just got a chance to be accepted into USC. My dad's practically celebrating my victory already._

_ILostIt…Again: Did you get your Stanford letter yet?_

_CladInBlack: It came yesterday. Accepted. I don't know if I can tell my dad no, though. Any advice?_

_ILostIt…Again: You can do what you feel like. It's up to you._

I let out a small sigh. Of course- Fang was having a dilemma on whether to listen to his dad or go off on his own while I was just stuck. Stuck with the ice cream shop. Stuck with Hunter Creek. Stuck with _Anne_.

_CladInBlack: You really don't care if I come with you or not?_

As odd as it sounds, I could almost hear his voice, sounding hurt, saying that sentence to me. Something tugged at my heart and I took a deep breath before typing and entering my response.

_ILostIt…Again: You wouldn't be coming with me. I was rejected._

There. It was final.

_CladInBlack: What?_

_ILostIt: You heard me. Please don't make me type that again._

_CladInBlack: That's crazy. How could they not accept you? You'd be their model student._

At that I had to laugh.

_ILostIt…Again: You don't even know who I am. How would you know I'd be their model student?_

_CladInBlack: I can just tell. Anyway, I need to go, sadly. My mom is calling me to dinner. Talk to you later?_

_ILostIt…Again: Goodbye, Fang._

I stared down at my last message. It was done. My Internet relationship with Fang Walker was completely done. Never to be worried about again. I felt as if there should have been some fifty pounds or so lifted off my shoulders, but I still felt as heavy as before.

I lost my best friend. I lost my dream college. I lost my shot at a happy ending. Ironically enough, I didn't lose anything tangible today. So in answer to the question that you all are probably wondering:

Life is just _great_.

**Fang POV**

_ILostIt…Again: Goodbye, Fang._

Though I didn't want to, I noticed how instead of responding with a nice 'Yes, I'll talk to you later, Fang', Lost had only responded with goodbye. When she had told me she didn't get in to Stanford, something in the pit of my stomach dropped. Now, it was almost like Lost and I had no chance of being together anymore. That didn't really matter to me, though. I was still going to try to find her… but something inside of me kept me worrying.

Why did I feel like she was saying goodbye to me forever?

**There. That chapter was pretty long, eh? Not to mention I added needed DRAMA!**

**Laters,**

**~Cake.**


	13. Chapter 13

**It's been a while since my last update, so I felt obligated to write this, but may I just tell you, typing in gloves is VERY hard. I keep pushing the wrong buttons. Oops. Well, I probably don't need gloves – I live in flipping California – but I wear them anyway, because I'm cold. I'm almost always cold. Maybe I'm cold-blooded?**

**Ch. 13:**

**Fang POV**

I walked up to Max's large house and gaped, it was big. Huge, elegant, fancy, attention-seeking- all words I'd use to describe Max's house. Words I'd never use to describe Max. The thought struck me immediately- Lissa and Brigid, her stepsisters. They were the ones who matched this house.

When Max hadn't showed at school today, and the rest of the class had gotten time to work on their project, I had opted to show at her house. Maybe she didn't care about keeping up her grades, but I did. She could be sick, but I doubted it. She had been just fine yesterday.

I strode up to the door before knocking. A tall woman in her mid-40s probably opened up the door. Behind the botox, it was hard to pinpoint an age. _This_ was Max's mom? Besides both having blond hair, they held no similar characteristics at all.

"Uh… hi." I said hesitantly. The woman didn't look very friendly…

She smiled, though. "And who may you be?"

"Fang Walker." I replied.

Her eyes widened. "Dating one of my daughters, aren't you? I can't remember which." She laughed airily. "Lissa or Brigid?" I tried not to recoil in disgust, there's more chance I'd date _Max_ than Lissa or Brigid.

"Um… neither." I cleared my throat. "I'm here to see Max."

Her face hardened immediately. "Max is not allowed to date." She said automatically, as if on autopilot. I internally frowned at that, so Brigid and Lissa were allowed to date, but not Max? Hardly seemed fair, but who was I to judge? I barely knew any of them.

"I'm not her date, I'm her history project partner. She wasn't at school today, and we really need to get started on this."

"Oh." She said. "Well, I'm Anne, Max's… mother." She got out, as if it pained her to say that. "Max is sick today and-"

"I'll risk it."

"Excuse me?" She asked, taken aback.

"I said I'll risk it." I explained patiently. "I really need to hold up my grades if I want to keep my admittance to-" I shut up.

"Aren't you Jack's son?" She questioned. "I thought you were on football scholarship, though?" My jaw tightened.

"Grades are always important." I replied stiffly.

Anne huffed before complying, "Max's room is up the stairs and down the hall. Last door on the left." She told me just as stiffly, before gliding away with an air of superiority.

I followed the directions slowly, not wanting to get lost in what seemed like a maze of a house. Finally I found the door nicely marked, 'Max's room: Keep out'. That was an obvious sign for me to go in, of course.

Somehow, I got the feeling that if I knocked, she wouldn't open the door for me. And if she really was that sick, she wouldn't want to get out of bed.

I opened the door quietly and peered inside. Max wasn't hard to find- in fact; she stuck out like a sore thumb in this bedroom of pure gray. It seemed everything but Max, her backpack, her textbooks, and her computer were gray. Max was lying at her desk, her head in her arms; she looked peaceful, somewhat like a sleeping angel. Uh… erase that thought.

The point is, she didn't look sick at all. Perfectly healthy. I walked over with my quiet step, very hesitant to wake her up. I was reaching for her shoulders when I noticed something. There were dried tear trails on her cheeks. I stumbled backwards before landing in her chair with a thump.

At that point, though, I could've cared less about the noise I was making. It was impossible. Physically impossible. Maximum Ride didn't cry- she just didn't. What could've possibly made her cry like that? I stared in shock as she roused from her sleep.

She looked around cautiously until her eyes widened and landed on me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She yelped.

"We worked on our history project today in class. You weren't there. Your mom let me in so we could work." I responded automatically, my mind still reeling from the sight of Maximum Ride with tear trails.

"And you just came into my room? I'm sick!"

"You don't look sick." I analyzed.

"Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving." She muttered quietly, almost so that I couldn't hear her.

"Why were you crying?" I blurted.

She narrowed her eyes at me, as if searching for something. "I wasn't crying." She sneered, but I could tell it was lacking the usual venom.

I got up and walked over to her, plopping down on her bed right beside the computer desk.

"Then what are these?" I put my thumb up to her face and brushed the dried tear trails. Her eyes widened, and I could only assume she felt what I felt. I felt a jolt, a shock, almost like a… a spark. And I hadn't felt that way since I had touched Lost at the Halloween Dance. Immediately, at the thought of Lost, I dropped my hand. I loved Lost, not Maximum Ride.

"I lost my best friend." Max whispered, breaking me out of my reverie.

"The Iggy dude?" I asked.

She shook her head. "He's… he's… no one at school knows him."

"He's not a real friend if he stopped hanging with you." I told her honestly.

"No… I stopped talking with him. There's just no chance of us being friends anymore with what happened."

"What happened?" I asked curiously.

"We were going to go to college together." She smiled fondly. "He got in. I didn't. There's no chance." Her smile dropped, almost like it had never been there in the first place.

Immediately my thoughts snapped to Lost. Me and Max- we were in a similar predicament, only on opposite ends.

"I get it." I replied slowly, carefully choosing my words. "Cinderella and I wanted to go to Stanford together." I admitted in a rush. For some reason, I felt I could trust Max. She wasn't a gossip whore, and she had never done anything intentionally awful to me.

"Didn't you only know her for a night?" Max asked. Her voice sounded curious, though her expression was a resigned one, one that looked as if she had heard the story a million times.

I shook my head and continued. "We met online. And now, we can't go to Stanford together because she didn't get in. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop looking for her. I'm never going to stop looking for her."

Her head snapped up. Something I had said had struck her. She leaned over and hugged me. I felt the same jolt of electricity run through, but I pushed it aside as nothing. I had to reserve my feelings for Lost- for when I found her.

She pulled back quickly and her eyes snapped down. She was done showing feelings, which was a relief because I was too.

"Let's get started on this project." She cleared her throat and got to work reading.

I only half paid attention, my determination to work obliterated. I was lost in thoughts of Lost…

And much to my dismay, thoughts of Max.

**So Fang gets some insight on Max's life. And he's still as bone-headed as ever, though. THE DUDE IS A FUDGING IDIOT.**

**Ahem.**

**Also, I just wanted to say that this story isn't going to be outrageously long because it is a Cinderella story. Once Fang figures it out and stops being an idiot, I'm not going to be the one to drag the story out and add in a million little obstacles to stop the Fax. Does anyone else get annoyed when an author drags a story out wayyy passed where they? Answer in a review, I'd like to know if anyone feels the same way. :/  
**

**Byeas,**

**~Cake.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Yo, my peeps! What's up? Well, I just wanted to inform you that I will be updating a lot more on all my stories during this 2 week span of Winter Break! Everyone cheer! I would've told you sooner, but back then I was still unsure if the world was ending, so…**

**Ch. 14:**

**Max POV**

_Grunt. Concentrate. Swing. Grin. Repeat._

And such is the cycle of baseball. Or at least my cycle of baseball anyway. I've never had a team, or anyone to play with, so I had to stick with only batting while a machine spits out balls in my direction. Iggy refused to do anything but feed the balls into the machine because he, and I quote, thinks, "Sports are barbaric." Maybe that's why he hates all the jocks at our school. Either because he hates sports or because they've repeatedly thrown him, the so called 'Drama Dweeb', into the trashcan.

"Come on, Max. Just tell him." Iggy whined as he fed another ball into the machine. _Grunt. Concentrate. Swing. Grin._

"No, Iggy, no. I just explained to you that Lost is gone forever and that there isn't a chance I'm ever going to Stanford with Fang. What about that don't you get?" I asked, groaning.

Iggy just rolled his eyes. "I've seen enough plays to know that somehow you're going to have a happy ending, Max. If you want to skip all the turmoil in between, just tell him now."

"Life isn't a theater, and my story isn't some dramatic, angst-ridden play, Ig." _Grunt. Concentrate. Swing. Grin._

He raised an eyebrow. "Says Maxerella herself." I snorted in response.

Time for a different tactic. "Like you're one to talk." I challenged. "When you tell little Miss Perfect Ella that you saved her from Dyl-Dork, I'll tell Fang that I'm his 'girl'. How's that?"

"Don't flip this on me."

"Then don't be a hypocrite." He scowled at my comment and fed another ball into the machine. _Grunt. Concentrate. Swing. Grin._

"Fine."

His comment caught me off guard. "Wha… ?"

"I said fine." Iggy held his head up high. "She came onto me during the dance, why would it be any different now?" I dropped my bat.

"You're kidding." He shook his head. "She's probably at the popular people pool party right now. Go have fun barging in." I smirked at him.

"I will-"

He was cut off by an annoying ringing that filled my ears. I huffed and pulled out my cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Max! I'm so glad you actually picked up this time!" Anne's nasally voice filled my ears. Damn it. Why didn't I check caller ID?

"Yes, Anne?" I asked, pleasantly as possible.

"I need you down at the ice cream shop, hun."

"It's my day off!"

"You're not going to get days off once you start working full time, Max. You should really start early. I mean, now that Stanford's out of the picture, you can focus on staying here and helping out at the shop and-" I hung up. My smirk was no longer in place.

"Let's head over to that pool party." I growled, knowing that going a place where people would notice me would be sure to upset Anne.

"Really?" Iggy asked, sounding surprised.

"Really. But one last hit first." I said, picking up the bat off the ground.

_Grunt. _Full of frustration, first step complete. _Concentrate. _Thoughts of Anne and anger swirled in my mind, all my heat was aimed toward the ball that would fly out of that machine, second step complete. _Swing. _The ball swirled at me, fast, then even faster, and as it neared my bat, suddenly Anne's face was plastered on the front of it, third step complete. _Grin. _The ball went over the fence of the batting grounds and into the football field and I grinned at the distance it had travelled, fourth step complete.

That is, until I saw who the ball had traveled closest to. Fang and Dylan both reached for the ball at the same time, but Dylan picked it up first. He looked to me and then his eyes widened. He turned to Fang and exclaimed, "Holy crap! A girl hit that, bro." The unnecessary addition of 'bro' made me narrow my eyes. Fang's scrutinizing gaze seemed to penetrate through me, so I didn't wait for him to throw the ball back. I simply turned around and left.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked as both Iggy and I peered around the fence into some random popular person's backyard. Ella and company lay there, all clad in bikinis and spread out on white lawn chairs. They seemed to have no interest in the actual pool, instead opting to sun tan for an unnaturally long time. I still had no idea why, seeing as Ella was Hispanic and didn't need any more than her natural tan.

"Yeah. You may be a chicken, but I'm not." Iggy said confidently and I scowled at him. Despite my scowl, I knew this idea would be nothing but disaster for Iggy. Ella was all about image; she would never willingly tie herself to the school 'Drama Dweeb.'

"Good luck." I told him half-heartedly. Who knows? Maybe Ella will suddenly expose the fact her heart was only iced over and has finally been melted by Iggy. I concealed a snort. More likely that I'd sprout wings and fly off into the sunset with Fang.

He walked up. He said something I couldn't make out. Ella's friends snickered. Ella sneered at him with a face that could make babies cry. Iggy's face dropped. Ella and company burst out into hysterical laughter. It was exactly what I had known would happen.

Iggy sullenly walked away from them and back to me.

"Iggy, I-" He held up a hand, signaling for me to be quiet.

"Save it, Max. I'm not in the mood for an 'I told you so' right now. But you can't forget the fact, Max. Now it's your turn."

I knew exactly what he meant. According to our deal, now I had to tell Fang. I watched him retreat, leaving me alone to my worries.

**Poor Iggy! I'll give you detail on what happened with him and Ella next chapter. I know I was veering away from the actual plot of the movie, so I'm back on track now. Sort of. Well, I put in one of my favorite scenes from the movie. Anyone else remember the baseball scene with Sam and Carter? :D**

**~Cake.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Ready for some Eggy heartbreak? Well, you're going to get some…**

**Ch. 15:**

**3****rd**** Person POV**

He strode over to Ella confidently, with an ease he didn't truly feel and only learned to master through rigorous training on how to be Danny Zuko. Of course, he didn't have the way with women Danny Zuko had, nor did he have the flawless looks. He was strong, sure, but also quite lanky and his strawberry-blond locks never seemed to want to stay in place.

"And so he was, like, completely perfect! So much better than Fang will ever be, I mean, come on, what is with that stupid name, Fang?" Ella asked and her minions scoffed on cue, agreeing. "But this guy, he was awesome, girls. He had a sense of humor and- oh! He ran off before we could kiss, but I could just tell he was the type that's a good kisser." Iggy overheard her ranting to her minions as he approached her. He unknowingly smiled at her boasting on his accord.

He came up behind her lawn chair and began sweating out of nerves. He wiped his hands on his pants multiple times before actually speaking.

"Um, hi Ella."

"Yes?" She asked, eyeing Iggy with disgust. Not that it deterred him any.

"I just wanted to tell you… I'm, well, uh… I'm your mystery guy. I was at the party and we talked and I-I'm the one you're looking for." He concluded.

The minions began snickering uncontrollably. _This_ was the guy Ella had bragged about?

Ella began to sneer with a face Iggy didn't recognize. This wasn't the girl who had played Belle in their Beauty and the Beast production in second grade. This wasn't the girl who chased him and threatened cooties on the playground. This was the girl who sneered at Max and all his friends. This was the girl he had neglected to see for 11 years.

"Listen, Drama Dweeb," She said in a soothing tone, "I know you want me, let's face it: Most guys do. But that doesn't mean you can just pretend to be my guy," Her voice turned harsh. "Sure, you can act a little, but you're just so… _you_. No matter how much you act, it'll still be disdainfully obvious that you aren't the guy. Now, leave, and let's see, never talk to me again." She finished, smirking evilly. The minions burst out in hysterical laughter, and soon Ella joined in.

Iggy turned, stunned by the full impact of learning his long-time crush was an evil witch. He walked back to Max, trying hard not to hang his head in shame. Max knew. Max had always warned him, yet he didn't listen.

"Iggy, I-" She began, most likely about to 'I told you so' him. He held his hand up with as much attitude as he could manage.

"Save it, Max. I'm not in the mood for an 'I told you so' right now. But you can't forget the fact, Max. Now it's your turn." Iggy turned, leaving himself to his thoughts. His heart had just been broken by Ella Martinez, but that wasn't what scared him. What scared him was the fact that though he was shocked, it didn't hurt at all. And now that Ella was done blinding him, thoughts of another girl began to raid his mind…

* * *

Brigid was absolutely ecstatic she had the day free from Lissa today. Because although they were twins, Brigid got tired of hanging out with that air-headed bimbo. Sure, their personalities were alike, but at least she had some intelligence- in fact, she managed to maintain all A's.

"Max!" Brigid yelled into the intercom, for she was desperately craving a sandwich at the moment. When she was met with no reply, she muttered resentfully to herself and trudged her way to Max's room.

She didn't bother to knock because it was Max. To her, Max's feelings meant less than zero.

The room was empty and Brigid huffed a sigh of annoyance. She was about to leave when she noticed a chat open on Max's computer. She knew Max had friends, but wasn't aware until now that Max was tech savvy enough to actually chat. Curiosity got to her and she rolled in Max's wheel-y chair up to the computer.

_CladInBlack: Lost?_

_ILostIt…Again: Hi, Fang._

_CladInBlack: You're really talking to me._

_ILostIt…Again: Yeah._

_CladInBlack: Change in heart?_

_ILostIt…Again: You could say that._

_CladInBlack: I just got a chance to be accepted into USC. My dad's practically celebrating my victory already._

_ILostIt…Again: Did you get your Stanford letter yet?_

_CladInBlack: It came yesterday. Accepted. I don't know if I can tell my dad no, though. Any advice?_

_ILostIt…Again: You can do what you feel like. It's up to you._

_CladInBlack: You really don't care if I come with you or not?_

_ILostIt…Again: You wouldn't be coming with me. I was rejected._

_CladInBlack: What?_

_ILostIt: You heard me. Please don't make me type that again._

_CladInBlack: That's crazy. How could they not accept you? You'd be their model student._

_ILostIt…Again: You don't even know who I am. How would you know I'd be their model student?_

_CladInBlack: I can just tell. Anyway, I need to go, sadly. My mom is calling me to dinner. Talk to you later?_

_ILostIt…Again: Goodbye, Fang._

Brigid all but fainted reading their old online conversation. Max was chatting with Fang? Max was Fang's Cinderella? It was… it was… no. It was impossible; Max had been cleaning that night. But this was Max, she must've found some way around it.

Brigid began scrolling through more and more old chats, thus learning more and more about Max and Fang. They had been chatting for some time now, constantly flirting in their chats.

Brigid had the idea initially to take the information and claim to be Lost, but then came to realization she couldn't. Both she and Lissa had already taken their shots at pretending to be Cinderella, and they had both failed miserably. He would suspect something. However, another idea did come upon her. It was sure to put Max back in her place, show her that she wasn't worth the interest of _the_ Fang Walker.

With those thoughts in mind, Brigid began dialing the number of one Miss Ella Martinez.

**Oh my gosh! Suspense…**

**~Cake.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Yes, I can honestly say I know the entire rap in 'Beauty and A Beat'. Does anyone else think I'm hitting an all-time low, or is it just me?**

**Anyway, it's my birthday! You heard me, birthday. :) And no, I won't tell you my age. Stalkers.**

**Ch. 16:**

**Max POV**

I woke up tired, cranky, and beyond confused at the current state of my chaotic life. Iggy had been ignoring my calls for what seemed like forever (It had been since yesterday, at the pool). Fang confused me to no end- Did he like Max, or Lost? And did it even matter? I was stuck with Anne's fantasy of me going to community college. He got into Stanford. And would get into USC.

_Ding Dong!_

"MAX!" Anne's shriek sounded through the intercom. "Get the door!" I groaned and got up to answer the door. Who would be here this early on a school day? I barely had any time left to make myself breakfast, anyway.

I rushed down to the door and swung it open impatiently. Fang stood outside, clad in black, as always.

"Hey Max."

"Fang… what are you doing here?" I asked, disbelieving.

"I thought I'd drive you to school, project partner." He winked at me, smirking.

I glanced back to the kitchen, where Brigid and Lissa would probably be waiting for their special breakfast platters courtesy of me. I bit my lip before deciding.

"Just let me grab my backpack."

I rushed to where I had set my backpack in the living room yesterday and turned, when I felt a yanking on my arm.

Lissa. I closed my eyes and awaited the complaining.

"Max, you've got to listen to me. You can't go to the pep-rally today." I opened my eyes and stared at her. "Look, I know I've been a bitch before, and I can't tell you specifically why, because I'm under oath, but you just can't go." Her eyes were wide and sincere- a whole new side to Lissa.

I nodded slowly and she breathed a sigh in relief.

I turned and walked back to Fang, backpack slung over one shoulder. What was wrong with the pep rally?

* * *

"So Max, will you go to the pep rally today?" Fang asked nonchalantly while we rode to school in his car.

I thought back to Lissa's warning. "Sorry, I already told someone I wouldn't go."

Fang frowned while driving. "Max, that's a crappy excuse. You can just tell me if you don't want to go."

"No, I swear, someone asked me not to go. Specifically. I mean, I'd love to go and all-"

"Great, I'll see you there." Fang grinned. I sighed in aggravation. Lissa seemed pretty intense with that warning, but the grin on Fang's face was enough to make any girl's heart melt. I felt like it was a smile reserved for me, though it could just as easily have been reserved for someone else.

But as ridiculous as it was, I liked the thought of being Fang's to smile at. It didn't even matter what he thought of me. I'd delude myself either way.

* * *

"Ready? Ok!" Ella Martinez led her cheerleaders in chant. Today's pep rally was no different than any other, not that I'd been to too many. They honored football players, talked school spirit; I'd even managed to catch Fang's eye for millisecond. Iggy still gave me the cold shoulder, but I knew I'd be forgiven soon enough. This was Iggy we were talking about, not me. He _can't_ hold a grudge.

"And now we have a special treat for everyone." Ella grinned maliciously. "It's time to tell the story of Cinderella. Specifically, _Fang's_ Cinderella." My eyes widened. This couldn't be- she didn't know the half of it.

Ella pulled a dirty blond wig over her dark waves and I gulped. My breath got steadily louder as an ice cream shop set and props were placed behind her.

"And… scene!" Someone shouted.

"Here's your ice cream." Ella said, holding an empty cone out to another 'actor'. She dropped it clumsily. "Oh! Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" She got down on her knees and began trying to clean up the imaginary substance. She got up and stage sighed to the crowd before a buzzing sound went off from her pocket.

"Clad In Black." She read, "Hey, Lost." She sighed dreamily.

"Can you wait to get out of town, Clad?" She said aloud while typing it out on her phone.

"No. I don't want to leave until I meet you." She sighed dreamily at the response again. This conversation was all too familiar for me.

Suddenly, two new actors entered the scene. Two of Ella's wannabes were obviously dressed as Dylan and Sam, and the third wasn't hard to pinpoint. Brigid stood on stage with a black wig and all black clothing. Brigid was Fang. I watched the play go on in mortification.

"Hey, Ice cream girl!" Brigid taunted as Fang, in a low voice.

"Y-yes!" Ella stuttered as- well, it was obvious who she was playing.

"We'd like some ice cream."

As Ella walked away, the attention was on 'Fang', 'Dylan', and 'Sam'.

"She's so weird."

"I think she has a problem."

"Well, it's obvious she's never going to get anywhere." The comment said by Brigid cut me in half. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as Ella rushed back on stage.

"Here's your ice cre- Ahhhh!" She shouted as she tripped over her own feet, spilling the tray she was holding and sending the entire audience into a riot.

She got up and held hands with Brigid and the other wannabes and bowed. "Thank you, but everyone; let's really give it up for the real Cinderella- Maximum Ride!" Everyone turned to where I was. They stared for a second before breaking out in hysterical laughter.

I caught Fang's eye, looking at me in surprise and an emotion I couldn't decipher. I took it to mean pity and disgust. He thought I was ridiculous. The tears spilled and I bolted. That was one thing I could do successfully. I could run.

"_Max, listen to me. You can't go to the pep rally today."_

Lissa's words rang in the back of my head. And so did one other thought.

_I should've listened._

**What'd ya think? And review. For my birthday? *Pulls bambi eyes* (not that I actually can…)**

**Sorry for the repost. As many of you know, I posted this yesterday, on my birthday, but a mistake was pointed out to me and I had to fix it. :P**

**~Cake.**


	17. Chapter 17

**ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! IMPORTANT A/N!**

**Ha-ha, sorry to do that to you, but I really do have something to say. To the Guest who reviewed, and basically to everyone. Someone mentioned that this was too much like the movie A Cinderella Story, and I 'couldn't steal from their favorite movie, girl!' I just wanted to reiterate the fact that I said from the very beginning this would be based off A Cinderella Story **_**because**_** I love that story so much. Just wanted it cleared up. :)**

**Ch. 17:**

**Max POV**

When my house came into my sights, I heaved a sigh of relief through my tears. Well, quite honestly, it sounded more like a shuddered breath because I let it out through sobbing. Not to mention, crying and running? It takes a hell of a lot out of you.

I fumbled around for my keys, opened the door, and ran straight to my room. Or at least tried to.

Anne blocked my path, hands on hips, unnatural blond hair tied in a tight bun. "I just got a call from Brigid that you ran away from school early. What, you think you can just do that, you worthless little piece of-" She cut herself off. "You're grounded until the end of the school year, you have to do extra work shifts, you need to-" This time, she didn't cut herself off, but I did.

I gave her the worst death glare I could through my pathetic stream off tears and pushed past her, running up the stairs with more gusto than I knew I had left in me. Opening the door to my room, I immediately was drawn to my bed and collapsed on it.

I was pathetic, I knew, but I just didn't have it left in me to be 'strong' anymore. A girl can only take so much. The look on Fang's face replayed through my mind; one of shock and an unknown emotion. How disgusted he must be with me… just another one of his mindless followers with a stupid crush on him. The funniest thing is I was actually considering telling him, even after Iggy's rejection from Ella.

My phone buzzed repeatedly, my computer dinged with chat requests, but I refused to get off my bed, or as I now referred to it, my Cloud of Shame. I disregarded it as my door opened and someone else sat down next to me on my Cloud of Shame.

"Max?" A tentative voice I didn't recognize pondered. I lifted my head to see a worried-looking Lissa staring down at me.

"What?" I don't know what I expected my voice to sound like. Maybe hoarse from crying, or cold and icy from what I'd been through. Possibly stuttering from a lack of confidence, or maybe even lack of a voice at all. What I got was none of the above. My voice was void of emotion, robotic almost. After all that had happened, I should've sounded like I felt _something_. But I didn't. And that's enough to scare anyone.

Lissa disregarded my lack of feeling and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I thought I told you not to go." Lissa whispered.

"Well, you didn't count on the fact I'm an idiot." My sarcasm showed through and I snorted at my own stupidity.

"Max, you aren't stupid- you know you're not. I know how hard you study and how well you do in school."

"What are you hinting at Lissa?" I questioned. "You hate me. You loathe me. You've never shown me an ounce of kindness, not even when my father was alive for show." The mention of my father cut through me like a blade. "Where are you going with this kindness charade?"

She looked down. "I know I've been a bitch. I know I don't deserve to be forgiven. I mean, I've supported Brigid in all her endeavors, I've been her lackey, the one who goes and becomes her bitch at her beck and call. Damn, I would hate me, too. But I don't hate you, Max. You don't deserve the hand you've been dealt, and the other day when Brigid told me about her plan, I just snapped. I've been following her for too long. I don't want to be her sidekick, her bitchy shadow, any longer."

I stared at her in awe. Moments of silence.

"You know what endeavor means?"

She burst out laugh, and I couldn't help but pitch in a giggle or two. "That's all…" She gasped out through her laughs, "you got… from my speech?"

"Well no," I wiped at a tear that had formed this time from not sadness, but laughter. "I got the whole 'villain turned good guy' part two, but I decided to focus on the point that you weren't a bimbo."

"Oh, God no." She smirked. "You know that I'm acing AP History?" I shook my head. "That's an act I put on to keep Brigid looking smart and ring-leader-ish. Ella doesn't seem to mind the bimbo act, either." A smile began to tug at her lips. "Remember that one time when someone had written on Ella's math spiral 'What's the quadratic equation for bitch squared?' and she threw a fit?"

I nodded and laughed silently at the memory. "Of course, Nudge, Ange, and I laughed at that one for ages."

Lissa looked around. "Me." She whispered, trying to stifle her laughter.

"What?" My eyes widened. "You did that? You're psycho! Didn't you fear her undeniable wrath?"

"Pshh, no one expects a girl on the inside." I laughed again. I loved this new Lissa. Or this Lissa that had been here forever and had just been hidden- oh, whatever, she was just awesome in general. "You have no idea how many times I wanted to go over and hang out with your friends," She sighed. "You know what I mean? Just drop the social status."

"Well… kind of. But, wait a second." I came to a realization. "Since you're smart and all, does this mean you knew I wasn't serving you gourmet breakfasts, but really hot pockets?"

"I've wanted to call you out on that every single time." She grinned.

"I can burn water. You want me to risk trying to cook gourmet?" I asked, raising one eyebrow. "I have an idea." I said suddenly. "You're hanging with Nudge, Ange, and I. Let me call them and have them come over." I reached for my phone and she slapped my hand.

"Are you crazy?" She whispered. "They hate me!"

"They don't know you," I argued, "I thought you wanted to drop the social status?" She chewed on her bottom lip and nodded finally.

I grinned and grabbed my phone. Twenty four missed texts, fifteen from Nudge, and nine from Angel. Ten missed calls. I began to dial a number and smiled at Lissa.

I may have lost my shot with Fang, been publicly humiliated in front the entire school, and lost my chance at Stanford, but I knew now. I knew I would be alright. I had Nudge and Angel, I would have Iggy once I called him up and apologized, and I had Lissa.

Unexpected as it may be, I think Lissa was just what I needed. Because now, I have a chance at getting a sister.

After all these years, maybe family is just what I need to pick myself up again.

**Yay! Now, don't kill me or tell me this was a filler chapter, because it was essential to the plot. Without this, you wouldn't know Lissa was good.**

**Anyway, what is your opinion on Lissa? How did I do with that?**

**This story is soon going to be drawing to a close, because as promised, it won't be very long.**

**Thoughts and comments are always appreciated!**

**~Cake.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys, this is a re-post. I made a mistake- UGH -but it is fixed now. Thank you so much FlyOnMax!**

**Ch. 18:**

**Max POV**

"You're insane." Nudge stated, crossing her arms and giving me a 'what the hell?' face. I shrugged and give her a smirk.

"So, you call us over and we come prepared to help you through this emotional with ice cream, the Notebook, and our comforting words and we find you here laughing your head off with a girl you hate. I think you've fallen on your head- or maybe it's the emotional stress, but I'll tell you right now, Lissa is not your friend. Okay?" She shook my shoulders as she ranted and stared me straight in the eye. Angel backed her up with a head nod.

Lissa shrunk back, scratching her head and looking uncomfortable. I only rolled my eyes. "Guys, I'm serious. Lissa's cool. She was only trying to fit in with the stupid bitch stereotype. Trust me, she's hilarious." I thought to add, "And she's the one who wondered me to stay away from that awful pep rally."

Angel eyed me disbelievingly. "Well, are we going to let the Notebook and this ice cream go to waste?" She asked.

"Not a chance." I grinned. I wasn't over the pep rally or Fang by a long shot, but watching Nudge and Angel – and now Lissa – sniffle over the romance while at the same time eating ice cream is something I don't think I could turn down.

* * *

"That movie is beautiful."

"Even after you've seen it thirty one times?" I snorted.

"Never ending love, Max, never ending love." Angel tsked and wagged her finger in my face. I sighed. What a nice thought, that never ending love.

"You twat." Nudge smacked Angel with a pillow. "She's obviously unstable at this stressful point in her life." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lissa throw a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"You know I can hear you, Nudge."

"Yes," She smiled down sweetly at me, "but you don't understand me. You are so traumatized, you don't even realized that you ate three times more ice cream than the rest of us." An eye roll earned, that was intentional. Duh. "Tomorrow you will wake and you won't remember that Lissa's actually nice."

Angel thought it wise to chime in, "You'll completely forget we gave your wardrobe a makeover, too."

Lissa laughed, "Well, she's going to be in shock when she checks out her closet."

"What?" I exclaimed and ran to my closet. T-Shirts, jeans, multiple different colored converse strewn across the floor. Phew. I was safe.

"Take a joke, Max, jeez." Nudge covered her mouth, trying to hold back a laugh. Fine then. She would get it. I grabbed the pillow of my bed. And I proceeded to whack her with it. She screamed and tried to protect herself with her hands.

I saw Lissa leave the room, but ignored it and moved on to Angel. All of a sudden, I felt a force hit me from behind. I heard Lissa's high-pitched laugh, which wasn't as annoying as it had been when I despised her. Of course, it hit me. She had gone to retrieve more pillows from my room.

Apparently, she brought enough pillows for Nudge, Angel, and herself to gang up on me.

"Hey, hey!" I exclaimed. "Not fair! I'm the emotionally traumatized one here, remember?" I resorted to my perfect defense.

"Fine." Angel hmphed. "Two on two, then?" We all smirked. The feathers were about to fly. And for once, I didn't care if Anne stormed in complaining about noise, or about me being a failure. I didn't care that I didn't get the guy. That was all irrelevant for once.

So irrelevant, in fact, I didn't even her my phone pinging with a new message.

**Fang POV**

I sat in my room with my head in my hands. It had all happened so fast. The pep rally rushed back into my head every single time I tried to forget it. Along with one person. Maximum Ride.

I was so stupid. How could I not have known? She had explained to me that her situation was exactly the same and I still denied it to be true. Another person was in my mind, too. That would be Ella. I just wanted to smack her. It was against my morals; of course, don't hit a girl and all. But who would even do that? I'm not sure how I dated her for so long.

The look on Max's face the pep rally was so confused… and hurt. I only wish I had known. I wish I could've gotten to her and reassured her that I still liked her. That she was still Lost, and she still had me wrapped around her finger more than I'd like to admit it.

Every time that I picked up my phone to send her a message, though, I had to stop myself. It was something about starting.

_Hey, Max…_

How do you go on? 'I'm sorry Ella's a bitch. You're ten times better than she'll ever be.' I don't think she'll appreciate that too much.

_Lost, I…_

Acting like it never happened. I still call her Lost, and still act like she's just the random girl from the chat room, when she's so much more than that.

I threw down my phone in frustration. It landed on the bed with a thump. If only… if only…

What? If only she were still anonymous? No. If only I could have reacted differently? No. If only I could've figured it out on my own? What good would that have done?

I just wish there was some way I could fix everything easily. Maybe have a chance at getting my fairytale ending, with Lost and I – No, Max and I going to Stanford together. This was yet another time I wish I had actual friends to go to. Maybe get some advice, or something that could help me at least a little bit.

Suddenly, the perfect message came to my mind. I've never been a man of many words. This message certainly wasn't a solution to any of my problems. I had no follow-ups to this message. Yet, I knew I had to send it.

_I love you._

**Oooh, drama! Will Max get the message? You'll see. Heh, heh, heh…**

**I think there will only be two or three more chapters in this, okay?**

**Remember to review!**

**~Cake.**


	19. Chapter 19

**I tried to write this as fast as I could for you guys without making it terrible. :P**

**BTW, I put a reference to one of my favoritest plays ever in this chapter. If anyone thinks they found it, put it in a review. I'll be sure to give you a shout-out next chap.**

**Ch. 19:**

**Max POV**

I woke up feeling groggy, but the first thing I noticed was the three extra girls sprawled across my bed. Of course, last night. Pillow fights, ice cream, and extreme talk-offs between everyone. Not that anyone could out-rant Nudge, obviously. The thought of Fang also entered my mind, but I tried to push it back as far as I could. My vision instantly went toward my clock. 11:30.

"Crap!" I exclaimed loudly, effectively waking all the girls from their slumber.

"What the heck, Max?" Nudge cried. "Taylor Lautner was just about to kiss me in my dream! I hate you!"

"Look at the damn clock, Nudge." I deadpanned. Her eyes, along with Angel's and Lissa's widened. "School started an three hours ago!"

"I can't be late again! No, no, no, no." Angel fretted. "You know how much I sleep in, Max. I can only get so many tardies before UCs stop accepting me and-" I cut off the stressed blond.

"Calm, Ange. Calm. We'll all be fine. We can... um…" I bit my lip, but Lissa came to my rescue. "We can all take my car. And you guys can borrow my clothes." I smiled gratefully at her, and she shrugged. "I can be helpful too, you know." She joked.

I picked up my phone, but suddenly felt sick. A message from Fang. I should look at it. As I was about to press it, the phone was snatched out of my hand by Nudge herself.

"Oh, no you don't." She peered at the screen. "Fang? Really? He is so not worth your time." She clicked her tongue and spent her time typing away at the screen. "There! Message deleted. No one even has to know what he had to say. I blocked him from your phone so he won't be getting to you any time soon. You're so much better than him, Max." She winked and handed me back my phone. I glared, but somewhat felt relieved. Now I didn't have to hear his harsh words in the text. It was probably just him talking about how he never liked me anyway.

I shooed them out of my room and in only fifteen minutes we were all ready.

At the door, Nudge frowned at my old, ratty Fallout Boy T-shirt and skinny jeans. I just smirked. She knew she wasn't going to get me in any other clothing. Right now, I needed a little reassurance in my life. And maybe, just maybe, dressing like me would make me feel a little more… like me. A little more tough. A little bit more of an edge. A lot more Max.

Nudge and Angel were dressed in fashion forward outfits I couldn't even begin to describe. They had gone to town with Lissa's wardrobe, quite obviously. The amount of bangles and necklaces on them collectively I couldn't even fathom counting. Lissa, on the other hand, was dressed down more than usual. A white tank top and jeans, with little make up on.

"I commend you." I commented, "You look almost as simple as me."

She scoffed. "Please Max, you're more complicated than I'll ever be."

"Was that supposed to be a messed up way of telling me my life's screwed up?"

"I guess we'll never know."

We all laughed. However, as I entered the car and heard Nudge and Angel's new plan I wasn't as excited. Apparently, they wanted to make an 'entrance' and Lissa was on board with it. It would all happen at lunch.

* * *

"What the hell is the point of this?" I asked for the thirteen hundredth time.

"Max, you have to show Fang that you don't care. You're ten times better than him- Now prove it." Lissa said strictly, crossing her arms for emphasis.

"Is it possible to prove something that isn't true?" That one earned me a whack.

"You know that isn't true. You're Maximum Freaking Ride. You have more self-confidence than anyone else in the world and you're more stubborn than a load of bricks. You are going to go bust in there and show everyone how much better you are!" Nudge finished her pep-talk.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You mean act exactly like Ella and her snobs- I'd rather stray away from that category. As far as possible, quite honestly." Lissa nodded in confirmation as a way of saying 'been there, done that.'

"Well, then the least we can do is go in and act like we don't even care." Angel sighed. She was still a bit disappointed about missing the first four periods of school.

"Oh, let's just get this over with." I rolled my eyes. "Let the overused, cliché scene where the confident girls stride into the cafeteria commence."

"That's the spirit, Max!" Nudge exclaimed, and with that I pushed open the doors to the cafeteria.

I let out a sigh of relief when nobody's head even turned when we walked. I knew it wouldn't work. I knew this wasn't necessary and-

_Clack. Clack. Clack._

Damn it. I knew that sound. With a horrified head turn, I spotted the high heels that Angel, Nudge, and Lissa all sported clacking on the ground. Those things were damn _loud_. That's when the heads started turning.

Everyone stared. There I was. The girl everyone laughed at yesterday, forever the scorned high school student, but I was actually here. Everyone had problem just assumed me to be chicken- to skip school like every other person at this school who got majorly humiliated. There looks of shock were actually empowering to me. I was stronger than most people, and I knew it at that point.

Lissa grinned as she got the looks. Those ones, you know, those 'why the hell is she with them looks?' Brigid's face was priceless as she stared on at her sister, who had mindlessly followed her for the majority of their lives. I could feel that things at this school were about to be flipped on its head.

Nudge and Angel were just outright enjoying themselves. Not attention-whore love like Brigid gets from her outfits, but just genuinely enjoying loving showing everyone they were more than just background girls. No one ever noticed people like us, but it seemed they did now.

As we were about to pass the popular table, we were stopped.

"Hey, Ice Cream Girl! I think there's a spill on the floor." One of Ella's minions sniggered. Ella immediately burst out laughing, and soon everyone at the table had joined. Except Fang. He just eyed with an expression. It almost read… questioning? I just looked away from him. _Just remember what the girls said, Max, not worth your time._

"Lissa, what are you doing with them?" Brigid questioned. "Your seat here is getting cold." She flashed a fake smile at her sister.

"What?" Lissa mimicked Brigid's high valley girl tone. "Like as cold as your personality?"

Brigid turned into a fish. Well, at least her expression. "You know you're of us, Lissy. Don't do this. Ella, convince her." Brigid turned to her queen with a worried expression.

Ella rolled her eyes and turned to Lissa. "Do you really want to spend the rest of your high school with a bunch of dweebs. You've always been on the… _good_ side of this school. I mean, if you really want to go over to them, be my guest. But you know where you belong, Liss."

Lissa smirked. "You bet I know where. Right here, with the people who actually, I don't know… have human emotion and feeling? With that, I'm crossing over to the dark side." She finished, and we turned in unison. I have to say, even if I'm not one for huge spectacles or conflicts, the adrenaline rush I was riding was massive.

We walked until we reached our table in the back, where Iggy was sitting alone. He looked to me first.

"My Gosh, Max, I'm so sorry about what happened and I was way out of line and-" I laughed and cut him off.

"It's fine, Ig." I gave him a hug. "I'm fine, as I've been trying to convince these girls since last night." Iggy grinned, but eyed Lissa suspiciously. I left her to explain herself to Iggy; I wasn't sure I could go through explaining that again. I began to tune the world out.

"Oh, and Max?" Iggy's voice broke me out of my reverie.

"What?"

"Well, you don't have to go to the football game tonight. I know we bought the tickets and all, but with Fang… I just don't think you should go." I gulped. Fang. He was playing tonight, wasn't he? That was right. The chance to get into USC and make his father proud. This was it for him. Part of me wanted to ditch, despite the fact I had just showed off to the school about how perfectly fine I was. The other part of me, though, wanted to go to see what USC thought of him. If he would have to choose whether to go with his passion, or his father's path, and what he would choose if faced with the decision. That was the part of me that cared enough to want him to go with what he wanted.

"No, no, Iggy. I mean, if I don't go, who's going to explain the rules to you?"

**How was it, people? Tell me in a review.**

**~Cake.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Yeah, it's been forever, but I've been busy with testing, dance, dance auditions, homework, and all that jazz. Luckily, summer is drawing near, and I'll be somewhat free. Well, free-er. I'll still have summer school, but my updating skills will be much better.**

**Ch. 20:**

**Max POV**

"Max, we really don't have to go." Iggy argued to me as we walked nearer and nearer to the dreaded place I call my high school.

"Iggy," I said, a grin in my voice, "I'm starting to think that you're almost _afraid_ to learn the rules of football. What, drama geek can't handle it?" My teasing caused him to huff, but I saw the smile grace his lips that showed he was happy. He had been trying to persuade me all day not to go, saying that it would help my mental 'well-being'. Honestly, Iggy is the last person I thought should try to teach me about well-being.

Not that was okay. Not that I wasn't. I was still stung, it still hurt, it was still fresh from yesterday, but there wasn't much I could do, was there?

As Iggy and I walked into the parking lot (Iggy had been banned from driving for a month. He totaled his dad's car – again.), I saw a sleek black vehicle pull up into to a spot close to me. It wasn't hard to figure out who's it was when Brigid and Ella marched up to it. Fang, Dylan, and Sam stepped out, football uniforms in hand and began to walk towards the locker rooms. I saw Ella lean flirtatiously towards Fang while Dylan attempted to charm Brigid (Not that it helped, she, too, was making gaga eyes at Fang). Fang didn't do anything to stop Ella, nor did he do anything to encourage her. His blank face and expressionless demeanor was aggravating to watch. It was like he had stepped into some kind of a shell, and it made me more pissed off than it should have.

After watching their exchange and seeing the three boys stomp off to the locker room, that was when I realized. That was when I realized that there was something I could do.

Startled with my sudden revelation, I turned to Iggy and said to him, "Hey, Igs, can you get us some seats? I have something to do before the game."

"Sure." He shrugged and walked further towards the football field. I, instead, turned around and headed back for the locker room. The _boys'_ locker room.

Careful not to lose my sudden burst of confidence, I charged into the locker room with a look of determination I was sure was set upon my face. Dylan was who I saw first and, coincidentally, who saw me first.

"Diner girl?" He sneered. "What the hell are you doing here? This is the _guys'_ locker room."

I narrowed my eyes. "Just tell me where Fang is." Apparently, threat was evident in my tone because he choked out a simple, "Locker 706."

I passed the one hundreds, then the two hundreds, then the three hundreds, and so on and so forth, with boys widening their eyes and letting out trills of protest at my presence. It seems that a girl in the boys' locker room wasn't so common.

When the seven hundreds finally arrived, my eyes pinpointed Fang quickly. He was shirtless, undeniably handsome, and attempting to tie his football cleats. When I tapped him on the shoulder, he looked up, startled and then changed his expression to shock when he realized it was me.

"Max!" He began. "Okay, I know that you think I'm just some-"

I cut him off. "Coward? Phony?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, just listen." He tried, but I stopped him once more.

I did the one thing I didn't think I could this whole time. I stepped up. I took charge. I stood up for myself. "No, you listen. You turned out to be exactly who I thought you were before this instant messaging and texting crap. You turned out to be that arrogant douche everyone believes you are. I never pretended to be somebody else. It's been me all along! And it was me who was hurt in front of everybody." I paused my yelling and calmed my tone. "Look, I didn't come here to yell at you, okay? I came to tell you that I know what it feels like to be afraid to show people who you are. I was, but I'm not anymore. And the thing is I really don't care what people think about me because I believe in myself and I know that things are going to be okay. But even though I have no family, no money for college, and no college that accepted me, it's you that I feel sorry for."

Dylan decided then to come up and yell out to Fang, "Heads up. Yo, five minutes till play time."

"I'm coming." Fang grunted, his black eyes never once leaving me.

"I know that guy that sent those emails and texts is somewhere down inside of you, but I can't wait for him, because waiting for you is like waiting for rain in this California drought. It's useless and disappointing." Having said my piece, I turned and walked away.

"Max!" He called after me, but he had already had his chance. It was my turn to leave. And I could only hope he would make the right decision from here on his own.

**Fang POV**

I inwardly cursed as she walked away from me. She was the one girl I wanted. The one girl who got me to open up and she was walking away without a second thought.

"Max!" I tried to call out to her, but she was already nearing the exit door.

I took a step to follow her, but Dylan grabbed my arm. He shook his head at me. "Dude, the game's about to start. Couch wants us out on the field, like, now."

I stared wistfully at the area Max had just been, but followed Dylan out nonetheless.

The game passed by in a blur of huge sweaty guys, dirt, and thoughts of Max swirling in my mind. The only other thing that was able to creep into my subconscious were the football officials from USC that were sitting oh-so-conveniently next to my coach.

I had played a practically perfect game, and my thoughts that the game was coming to a close were supported by the announcer saying, "Only nine seconds left in the game, home only needs one touchdown to win." That touchdown was on me.

This was my chance. My only chance. I had to show everyone what I was, _who_ I was with this single play. Even growing up, my dad taught me that in football and in life that it doesn't matter how you started the game, but how you finish it was everything.

I stared up at the clock that read nine seconds on it. I heard the crowd being led by the cheerleaders to shout, "Fa-ang! Fa-ang! Fa-ang!" And finally, I saw Max standing uncomfortably next to Iggy, not participating in the crowd's chant of my name. I saw her start to leave her row of the bleachers, preparing to exit the stadium. I knew what I had to do.

I turned back to my team and gave them all a small smile. No matter their lack of intelligence, these were the people I had spent my high school years with. They had stood by my side through it all, and it almost hurt that I was leaving theirs. I gave them a small salute. "Sorry boys." I told them, and began to jog toward the girl of my dreams.

My coach and my dad stopped me as I made my way to her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing, Fang?" My dad asked, hurt evident in his eyes.

"I'm out of here." I told him honestly.

"You're throwing away you're dream." He warned me.

"No, Dad. I'm throwing away yours." I turned to Sam, who was standing on the sidelines, awe in his eyes. "Go get 'em, Sam." I told him. "It's your game now."

I sprinted toward the bleachers as Max made her way to the end of the row. Shouts followed me. "Fang!" A shout from Ella. "Get back here, Fang!" A shout from my dad. "Fang, come back!" A shout from my coach. It all failed to matter as I started to climb the bleachers and came face to face with Max.

"Fang, what are you doing?" She asked.

"Something I should've done the minute I found out who you were. Or even before."

And without another thought present in my mind besides _Max_, I leaned over and kissed her. She stilled for a moment, then responded wholeheartedly. I was out of this world for a moment, and all I could think of was how soft her lips were. That is, of course, until she laughed and pulled away. I was confused until she pointed upward and I noticed the rain coming down in full swing.

I chuckled. "I'm sorry I had to for the rain in this drought."

She bit her lip in a way that I will always find endearing. "It's okay." She whispered.

I heard a scream of "No!" from Brigid in the distance and then a blaring horn, and then the cheers that we had won the game- no, Sam had won the game.

But what I remember most? I finally found my princess. She no longer had to be Lost.

**So, only one chapter left, and that's the epilogue!**

**I hope this was good. For this entire story, though it has been based off of 'A Cinderella Story' with Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray, I had yet to completely go and use direct quotes. For the locker scene dialogue and the dialogue out on the field, everything was too perfect for me to change, so anyone who has seen the movie will most likely recognize it. And just to reiterate- I don't own Maximum Ride or A Cinderella Story.**

**Thanks for your continued support in reading my story, and I hope you can drop a review with your thoughts my way. Thanks!**

**~Cake.**


	21. Epilogue

**Cake here! Wow, I know what you're thinking, speedy updating, right? This is, in fact, the epilogue, and I'm sad to say it.**

**HOWEVER, I have just thought of a brilliant story line- well, I think it's brilliant. I'll put the summary down in the bottom A/N and if enough of you like the idea, I'll write it and the first chapter should be up by June. If enough of you don't like it… well, the tale will cease to exist and ever be written. :P Let's hope you like it. And let's hope you like this epilogue!**

_**Epilogue**_

**Max POV**

Since that fateful day on the football field, everything seemed to fall in place for me. And for everyone around me that I cared about.

To start with, there was Fang. He mailed back his acceptance letter to Stanford with assurance that he was more than happy about going. The USC officials hadn't exactly been thrilled about his romantic gesture and about his quitting the game. Neither had his dad been particularly enthused.

It all worked out for him, though. His dad finally came around and accepted the fact that English was his passion and writing was what he would pursue throughout college. He also came to terms with the fact the other thing he would pursue was me. I had spent many a night over at Fang's house for dinner being grilled by his dad, pampered by his mom, and embarrassed by Angel about Fang and I's 'totally adorbs' relationship. Of course, his parents weren't quite as lenient about my sleepovers with Angel anymore…

Angel was another success story in my book. She graduated with perfect grades, and came out of nowhere into the race to become valedictorian… and she won. Fang and I weren't even jealous, she deserved it and we were both ecstatic for her. After all, what good was being jealous when we had so little time before she left for YALE. Yes, Yale. I always knew she was the smartest friend I had.

Iggy was the next one to cross off the happy list. After going from casting to casting, he finally landed a toothpaste commercial for Crest. I constantly mocked him, saying things like, "What's going to be your next big step in the business? An Invisalign commercial?" But I knew in my heart that he was going to make it big. After all, how could he not? He had gotten the girl. No, not Ella, thank God. Maybe playing Juliet in the final high school play with Nudge as Romeo knocked some sense into him, but he finally figured out that Nudge was the girl for him.

They had been nearly inseparable since the moment they announced they were dating. Well, Nudge more squealed than announced, but that's not the point. Even when Ella, after seeing his Crest commercial, came onto him, he just shrugged her off and kept on talking to Nudge. Nothing like seeing Ella rejected to make me smile. Nudge and Iggy had made the decision together to go pursue acting down in LA.

It also seemed someone who had realized their true potential was Lissa. Ditching her miniskirts and tube tops, she separated herself from her twin and found her true calling. As it turns out, Lissa was passionate about chemistry, and got an acceptance into Columbia University in New York to study it.

And then there was me. As it turns out, karma finally came back around to my side and against Anne. While cleaning an old bookshelf that hadn't been dusted in years as Anne had instructed me, I found an old fairytale book I recognized from childhood. My dad had read it to me before bed quite often. As I opened it to reminisce, I saw an old, yellowing paper fall out. A hidden will.

My dad had hidden a will all those years ago, and he had left everything to _me_, not Anne. The ice cream shop, the house, everything. After getting everything legally sorted out, the first thing I did was get rid of all the frivolities Anne had bought with my money. Needless to say, she had been more than pissed about the finding of the will.

Of course, the best news was yet to come. Lissa, with a spark in her eyes at the time, informed me of the _real_ letter Stanford had left me. It was an acceptance letter, and besides the will, maybe the most beautiful paper I had ever laid eyes on.

Without regret, I let Ari take charge of the ice cream shop. I still owned it, but I promoted him to manager, and with him in charge, business was booming. As a tribute to my father, I had Anne work off some of the things she had bought with my money at the ice cream shop. It was a sight to see, Anne working. It was certainly a sight I would never get tired of.

I sighed in content, thinking of all these happy endings, and smiled.

"What are you grinning about?" Fang asked as we sat on the hood of his car.

"How well everything worked out. How much I love you. How we're going to _college_ today."

"It's pretty big, isn't it? Just a minute ago you were my elusive Cinderella. Where's fate gonna take us next, huh?" He chuckled.

"Who knows?" I flashed him a smile. "We're only freshman, after all."

**THE END.**

**Tada! Thoughts?**

**Anyway, now for the summary for the possible story:**

Getting pulled into the past certainly wasn't an ideal plan for the weekend. When Max gets sucked back in time through a crazy machine, she's faced to deal with a whole different time period. How will she deal with the lovely ladies, near-demonic duchesses, and a few lords that have taken a particular interest in her? And now that she's gotten herself sucked into this new era, will she ever get back out? Fax.

**Opinions? Also, which do you think is a better title: "The Time Traveler" or "Blast to the Past".**

**Thanks always!**

**~Cake.**


	22. Blast to the Past Note

**Hello, readers! I just wanted to let you all know that Blast to the Past is up! It currently has two chapters, so go check it out and drop a review my way with your thoughts.**

**~Cake.**


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